The Action Plan for Australian Birds 2010 is the third in a series of action plans that have been produced at the start of each decade. The book analyzes the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) status of all the species and subspecies of Australia's birds, including those of the offshore territories. For each bird the size and trend in their population and distribution has been analyzed using the latest iteration of IUCN Red List Criteria to determine their risk of extinction. The book also provides an account of all those species and subspecies that are or are likely to be extinct. Each categorization is justified on the basis of the latest research, including much unpublished material that has been made available during workshops conducted with leading ornithologists and conservation biologists around the country as well as phone interviews and correspondence. The result is the most authoritative account yet of the status of Australia's birds.
In this completely revised edition each account covers not only the 2010 status but provides a retrospective assessment of the status in 1990 and 2000 based on current knowledge, taxonomic revisions and changes to the IUCN criteria, and then reasons why the status of some taxa has changed over the last two decades. Maps have been created specifically for the Action Plan based on vetted data drawn from the records of Birds Australia, its members and its partners in many government departments.
The book contains some surprises - some alarming, some encouraging. The status of some birds has improved over the last two decades as a result of dedicated conservation management. Some may not have changed status but at least they are holding their own. Many, however, are continuing to decline and a distressing number are new to the list. There is also an increasing number of birds for which captive insurance populations need not only to be considered as a future option but actively pursued before it is too late.
But this is not a book of lost causes. It is a call for action to keep the extraordinary biodiversity we have inherited and pass the legacy to our children. Every one of Australia's threatened taxa can be saved. This book describes the populations of species at greatest risk and outlines ways we can turn them around.
KEY FEATURES
* Readily accessible status information with reasons for listing
* Synopsis of principal features that influence listing
* List of actions needed for conservation
* Includes specially commissioned distribution maps
Dutson, Guy: - Guy Dutson is an independent consultant who has been researching threatened Australasian birds since rediscovering the Superb Pitta in PNG in 1990. He developed BirdLife International's Pacific program, managing projects across the Pacific islands. Guy moved to Australia in 2006 to develop the Birds Australia-Rio Tinto Important Bird Areas program, and identified all Australian sites of global bird conservation importance. Guy has also worked with bird tourism in the Northern Territory and leads birdwatching tours across the country and globally.
Garnett, Stephen: - Stephen Garnett has been studying Australian birds since 1974. During the 1980s he worked on the Handbook of Australian, Antarctic and New Zealand Birds and in 1990, with Joost Brouwer, he drafted the first review of Australia's threatened bird species. He wrote the first Action Plan for Australian Birds in 1992 and the second Action Plan, in association with Gabriel Crowley, in 2000. He has studied and written about many threatened Australian bird species, most notably the Golden-shouldered Parrot and the Kangaroo Island Glossy Black-Cockatoo, and helped bring the idea of Important Bird Areas to Australia. He also works on natural-resource based livelihoods in northern Australia and South-East Asia. He is a research professor at Charles Darwin University in Darwin.
Szabo, Judit: - Judit Szabo is a research fellow at Charles Darwin University working on Australian threatened birds. She has studied the effects of pesticides used in locust control on Australian birds. During the five years of field work and data analysis she became interested in issues with data collection and study design, which led to her work on optimal monitoring, bias associated with bird survey data, and using volunteer-collected data to detect trends in bird populations.
