Land Use Change and African-Palaearctic Migrant Birds
The purpose of this project is to review knowledge and improve understanding of the social, economic and policy drivers of land use change in the Sahel that may be associated with population declines in Palaearctic-African migrant birds.
The Sahel region is a key habitat for birds that summer in the Palaearctic (including the UK), and migrate to winter in Africa. Many depend on the resources of the Sahel at some stage in their life cycle. Many of these species are now declining in numbers. Drought and habitat change in the drylands of West Africa are thought to be associated with these decline, but the links between actual land cover change and declines in migrants are poorly understood.
This project will review the extent of land cover change in the Sahel, the social and the economic processes that are driving it, and its significance for migrant birds.
The project is a collaboration effort between the University of Cambridge (Departments of Geography and Zoology), the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the British Trust for Ornithology.
Through review of existing research and workshops, the project will address the following questions:
- What is the current knowledge of change in land covers relevant to African-Palaearctic passerine migrants?
- What are the social and economic processes causing land cover change in West Africa?
- How are existing policies affecting these processes and can they be influenced?
In related research, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the British Trust for Ornithology are currently conducting ecological field research in Ghana and Burkina Faso.
The project is co-funded by the Cambridge Conservation Initiative Collaborative Fund, and the Isaac Newton Trust.
Research Briefs
- Migrant Birds in the West African Sahel, Research Brief 1.
- Key Habitats for Declining Migrant Birds in the West African Sahel, Research Brief 2.
- Migrant Birds and Environmental Change in the West African Sahel, Research Brief 3.
- Drivers of Land Use Change and Migrant Birds in the West African Sahel, Research Brief 4.
Publications
- Adams, W.M. (2002) 'Goodbye Malthus, hello humankind', Oryx 36 (3): 211-2.
- Mortimore, M. J. and Adams, W.M. (2001) 'Farmer adaptation, change and 'crisis' in the Sahel', Global Environmental Change 11: 49-57.
- Hewson, C.M and Noble, D.G. (2009) Population trends of breeding birds in British woodlands over a 32-year period: relationships with food, habitat use and migratory behaviour. Ibis 151, 464 – 486.