Last week, two colleagues traveled south to West Africa – following the route of some of the UK’s fastest declining migratory species. West Africa is a critical stop-over and wintering area for species like wood warbler and pied flycatcher, and we believe that unsustainable land use in the region may be driving some of the declines we’re seeing here in their UK-breeding populations. Below, Kate Hand, Senior Policy Officer at the RSPB, gives her report on a positive encounter with West African decision-makers.
Image courtesy of Andy Hay rspb-images.com
Land use is an extremely complex topic, and its precise dynamics vary widely across the vast West African region. So to really dig into how we might influence land use change for the better, the RSPB has been working closely with the Convention on Migratory Species, and other BirdLife International partners in the region, to organise an international workshop on this issue. The aim was to bring together a group of West African Governments, conservationists, development and land use specialists to discuss these issues in more detail, and identify what can be done.
At the workshop, which was held in Abuja, Nigeria, participants discussed what the underlying drivers of land use change in West Africa are, identified some of the most harmful land use changes impacting on migratory birds (which included intensive farming techniques and large scale and poorly planned infrastructure developments) and then started to think about what some of the solutions could be. Recognising that many of these regions support some of the poorest people in the world, it was agreed that any solutions would need to not only be good for birds, but for local people and their livelihoods too.
Many of the solutions identified are similar to what is needed to promote sustainable land use in the UK e.g. better policy coordination across government, ensuring effective environmental governance and enforcement mechanisms are in place, as well as promoting best practices e.g. agroforestry and other conservation farming techniques. However, the unique challenges of West Africa mean that additional solutions will also be required, such as capacity building, awareness raising and working with development agencies to ensure effective environmental safeguards are built into their programmes and projects.
In discussion with the Nigerian Minister, Amina J Mohammed
The outputs from the workshop culminated in an agreed Declaration (“The Abuja Declaration” - see here) and a draft resolution, which we hope will be signed off by all Parties at the Convention of Migratory Species Conference of Parties, next year. We will also be working with relevant UN agencies and other international and regional processes to ensure that the outputs from this workshop are raised in forum whose primary purpose is not biodiversity conservation, but whose work may have an impact on biodiversity declines e.g. the Food and Agriculture Organisation, United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank.
The key to the success of our work, will ultimately rest with how committed each of the Governments are to tackling these issues. We were therefore delighted and privileged to meet Amina J. Mohammed, Honourable Minister of Environment in Nigeria, alongside her Minister of State, in the margins of the workshop to discuss the outputs from it with her. Her dedication to, and leadership on, these issues is apparent and we hope to work closely with her and her officials to embed the solutions needed for sustainable land use, both within Nigeria, but across the region.
This workshop has taken us a huge step forward, but it is only a first step and more work is needed if we are to ensure that our spring times continue to be marked by the return of our wonderful migratory birds.
Good luck RSPB in this vital work that is so essential thousands of miles from the UK. Great stuff.
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