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Figure 6:
Change in abundance of birdlife in Europe during the
last 30 years (UNEP, 2009; RSPB, European Bird Census Coun-
cil (EBCC) and the Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring
Scheme (PECBMS)).
Global Mean Species Abundance (MSA), a measure used to
project both the species diversity and the abundance, is project-
ed to decrease from about 0.70 in 2000, to about 0.63 by 2050
(Alkemade
et al.
, 2009). To put these figures in context, 0.01 of
global MSA is equivalent to completely converting 1.3 million
km
2
(an area the size of Peru or Chad) of intact primary ecosys-
tems to completely transformed areas with no original species
remaining, in less than a decade (Alkemade
et al.
, 2009).
Or in other words – a projected decline of 0.07 in Mean Spe-
cies Abundance by 2050 is equivalent to eradicating all origi-
nal plant and wildlife species in an area of 9.1 million km
2
–
roughly the size of the United States of America or China – in
less than 40 years (Alkemade
et al.
, 2009).
Correspondingly, the abundance of farmland birds in Europe
(as well as in many other parts of the world), many of which are
migratory, have already experienced a dramatic decline in the
last decades, by around 50 per cent (Fig. 6).
Nearly one-third of the world’s land area has been converted
to cropland and pastures, and an additional one-third is al-
ready heavily fragmented, with devastating impacts on wildlife
(UNEP, 2001; Alkemade
et al.
, 2009; Pereira
et al.
, 2011).
Wetlands and resting sites have declined by over 50 per cent
in the last century, and many of these are critical to the long
migrations of birdlife (UNEP, 2010a). Coastal development
is increasing rapidly and is projected to have an impact on 91
per cent of all temperate and tropical coastlines by 2050 and
will contribute to more than 80 per cent of all marine pollu-
tion (UNEP, 2008). This will have severe impacts on migratory
birdlife. The development is particularly critical between 60
degrees north and south latitude.
Source: adapted from a chart by Hugo
Alhenius; UNEP, 2009; RSPB, European Bird
Census Council (EBCC) and the Pan-European
Common Bird Monitoring Scheme (PECBMS)
Forest birds
Farmland birds
All birds
Population index of common birds (Index 100: 1980)
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
50
75
100
125
The decline of common birds