The report has claimed that climate change is an important emerging driver of change in bird communities and a particular concern for tropical montane, polar, and migratory species.
Key findings:
- The threat has been attributed to almost half of the 10,994 recognised extant species of birds to the expanding human footprint on the natural world and climate change.
- In India, of 140 species, nearly 80% are declining in numbers, and almost 50% plummeting strongly.
- Among the most threatened species were endemic species, birds of prey, and those living in forests and grasslands.
Reasons for the Decline:
- The use of 37% of the surviving bird species as common or exotic pets and 14% as food are examples of direct overexploitation.
- Also, humans eat 14% of the world’s surviving species of birds.
- The continued growth of human populations and of per capita rates of consumption lead directly to conversion and degradation of primary natural habitats.
- Deforestation has been driven by afforestation with plantations (often of non-native species) plus land abandonment in parts of the global North, with net loss in the tropics.
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