The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment through public awareness campaigns, petitions and through the operation of nature reserves throughout the United Kingdom.In 2020/21 the RSPB had an income of £117 million, 2,000 employees, 12,000 volunteers and 1.1 million members (including 195,000 youth members), making it one of the world's largest wildlife conservation organisations. The RSPB has many local groups and maintains 222 nature reserves..
Oil palm production has known negative effects on biodiversity. The conversion of native forests to oil palm causes local species extinctions, alters community composition, and reduces ecosystem function. Quantifying the extent of this conversion within sites of high conservation importance is crucial to identify conservation priorities, but such global data are currently lacking. Here, we quantify the extent of oil palm (derived from satellite remote sensing) in 3,025 Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs), within the global region suitable for growing oil palm. KBAs are areas identified for global biodiversity importance, but which do not necessarily benefit from protection. We found that oil palm is present in 8
Global efforts to mitigate anthropogenic pressures on biodiversity and ecosystems will often be realised through management at landscape-scales (i.e., in the range of 100s–1000 s km2). In consequence, we need to measure biodiversity responses at landscape-scales to ensure mitigations are effectively protecting and restoring ecosystems. Yet many countries currently lack monitoring programmes that can generate indicators of biodiversity at these scales. Localised monitoring (e.g., 1 km2) is often amalgamated into national-scale indicators, however, this leaves a substantial gap in the middle of this spatial gradient, limiting availability of information at decision-relevant scales. Here, using the United Kingdom as a case study, we explored the suitability of seven sources of biodiversity data which could be used to construct landscape-scale indicators. We surveyed 70, mostly UK-based, monitoring experts for their opinions on structured and unstructured in-person surveys, camera traps, eDNA, drones, passive acoustic recorders, and satellite remote sensing. We assessed data source utility to construct indicators reflecting Essential Biodiversity Variables, i.e., as holistic measures of taxa or ecosystems rather than assessments of individual management interventions. All seven data sources were deemed suitable, and experts expected developments in technology and infrastructure to greatly increase this potential over the next decade. However, there are technical, analytical, logistical and financial barriers to establishing monitoring networks that could yield the requisite data for landscape-scale indicators. Resolving these issues requires substantial research, policy commitment and investment, but landscape-scale indicators will be essential for the UK to undertake adaptive management and monitor nature recovery.
1. The conservation of migratory species needs coordinated actions across their range. Global flyways are the broad routes migratory species travel between their breeding and non-breeding ranges. For migratory land and waterbirds, the flyways concept has improved conservation outcomes by providing an effective framework that brings together relevant stakeholders, identifies research and conservation priorities, mobilises finances and coordinates interventions over the long term. The recent identification of marine flyways presents an opportunity to translate the flyways concept to the marine environment to further the conservation of seabirds, one of the most threatened groups of birds. 2. We summarise available data for marine flyways, including national responsibilities, focal species, important site networks and major pressures, for example to support the Resolution on Seabirds and Marine Flyways that is expected to be adopted at the Fifteenth Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species and Wild Animals (CMS) in March 2026. The Resolution aims to provide formal recognition of marine flyways and their contribution to strengthening international cooperation for the conservation of seabirds. 3. We demonstrate the strong overlap of marine flyways with the national waters of countries that are Party to CMS, highlighting the unique opportunity for implementation via this policy mechanism. We identify 151 migratory and pelagic seabird species that use all or part of the marine flyways, of which almost half are globally threatened. We summarise the existing site network identified for the focal species, alongside their major threats, providing a framework for prioritising conservation actions and identifying knowledge gaps to guide implementation. 4. Policy implications. Implementing the marine flyways framework can secure ecological connectivity across the marine environment, including in synergistic implementation of existing regional policy instruments and multiple multilateral environmental agreements, including CMS, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) and the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), accelerating ocean conservation and delivering tangible benefits for migratory species.
A global standard for the identification of Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) was published 10 years ago to provide a unified set of criteria for identifying 'sites of significance for the global persistence of biodiversity'. We review the initiative's origins, the KBA identification process, characteristics of the current network, threats, policy uptake, private sector applications and future priorities. KBAs are identified using criteria with quantitative thresholds relating to threatened or geographically restricted species or ecosystems, ecological integrity, biological processes, or irreplaceability. These criteria can be applied in terrestrial, inland water, marine and subterranean environments, and to all taxonomic groups. A total of 16,596 KBAs covering 22.1 million km2 has been identified, with 29% of these sites in marine and 26% in freshwater ecosystems. KBAs range from 0.001 km2 to 712,457 km2 in extent, with a median size of 141 km2 and a mean of 1,364 km2. Most (63%) qualify due to the globally threatened species they support, with 48% being important for biological processes and 39% for geographically restricted species. KBAs have been identified for 18,365 qualifying species in total, of which 37% are plants and 32% are birds. The most prevalent threats are biological resource use (hunting, logging, fishing, etc., impacting 40.8% of sites with available data), unsustainable agriculture (40.7%), human intrusions and disturbance (38.4%) and natural systems modifications (water management and fire; 33.4%). KBAs are important for delivering ecosystem services to people, both locally and globally. KBAs have had widespread impact in informing protected area designation in all regions. In total, 10,054 sites (62%) are covered completely or partially by protected areas. Hence, KBAs are highly relevant to Target 3 (and other targets) in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and to Sustainable Development Goals 14.5, 15.1, and 15.4. Indicators based on KBA data are therefore being used by the Convention on Biological Diversity and United Nations to track progress towards these targets. Many companies and financial institutions use KBAs to assess their exposure to nature-related risks and to identify opportunities for site-level, nature-positive actions. Future priorities include expanding and updating KBA assessments, and strengthening efforts to protect, conserve and safeguard these sites effectively.
Since 2020, impacts of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) on wild bird populations have escalated globally. Colonial nesting birds are particularly vulnerable, as high-density colonies facilitate rapid viral transmission. At some affected sites, removal of carcasses has been carried out during outbreaks, with the aim to reduce transmission rates and resulting mortality. However, there remains substantial uncertainty over the effectiveness of this mitigation measure. In this study, we use an individual-based model to simulate HPAI spread through a ground-nesting colony. The model was calibrated using data from outbreaks in Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) and Sandwich Tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis) colonies in the UK, using an approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) approach. Following model fitting, we test different scenarios for carcass removal, ranging from daily removal of all carcasses to infrequent removal starting after a delay. Results indicated that removing carcasses can reduce adult mortality during outbreaks, but effectiveness was limited in the context of high-density colonies. Mean reductions in mortality were less than 5% across the scenarios considered, and effectiveness decreased as the frequency of collection was reduced. However, removal of carcasses did substantially lower the predicted accumulation of virus in the colony, which could reduce spill-over risk to other species, including through scavenging. When outbreaks occur early on in the breeding season, model results also indicated that carcass removal could lower the risk of HPAI impacts on susceptible chicks later in the season. Practical implications. HPAI presents an ongoing risk to colonial nesting bird populations as H5 Clade 2.3.4.4b continues to spread globally. Our findings suggest that carcass removal should be considered as a response where outbreaks occur, as frequent removal can reduce adult mortality and increase productivity in some scenarios. However, in high-density colonies with high transmission rates, carcass removal is unlikely to be sufficient to halt transmission and prevent population impacts. Therefore, potential benefits should be considered against risks of negative effects from disturbance to breeding colonies. Decisions on carcass removal should be made on a site-by-site basis, and if removal is implemented, this should be started as soon as possible and repeated frequently.
