States through which migratory animals pass, the Range States, and lays the legal foundation for internationally coordinated conservation measures throughout a migratory range. Migratory species threatened with extinction are listed in Appendix I to the Convention. CMS Parties strive towards strictly protecting these animals, conserv-ing or restorconserv-ing the places where they live, mitigatconserv-ing obstacles to migration and controllconserv-ing other factors that might endanger them. Migratory species that need or would significantly benefit from international co-operation are listed in Appendix II to the Convention. For this reason, the Convention encourages the Range States to con-clude global or regional agreements.
CMS Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in Africa and Eurasia (Raptors MOU), is one of several instruments operating under the CMS. It aims to promote internationally coordinated actions to achieve and maintain the favourable conservation status of migratory birds of prey through-out their range in the African-Eurasian region, and to reverse their decline when and where appropriate.
Multi-species Action Plan to Conserve African-Eurasian Vultures, adopted by CMS parties in 2017, it provides a strategic conservation plan covering the geographic ranges (128 states) of all 15 species of migratory African-Eurasian ("Old World") vultures and promoting concerted, collaborative and coordinated international actions to save vultures species from further decline and extinction.
CMS Task Forces In response to serious problems with far-reaching international consequences and potentially severe impacts on the conservation of migratory species, the Convention has established Task Forces in con-junction with regular partners and other stakeholders. Two of them are tasked with reducing some of the main threats to birds of prey in North Africa:
- The Intergovernmental Task Force on Illegal Killing, Taking and Trade of Migratory Birds (MIKT) is intended to facilitate international cooperation and the implementation of existing guidelines and action plans for the eradi-cation of illegal killing, trapping and trade of wild birds. All the countries of North Africa are members of this Task Force and responsible for the implementation of the agreed plans in their territories.
- The Energy Task Force is a multi-stakeholder initiative which works towards reconciling renewable energy de-velopments with conservation of migratory species by avoiding and minimising the negative impacts of energy developments on migratory species. Only two North African countries, Morocco and Egypt, are members of the Task Force. Given the known impacts of energy infrastructure on birds of prey, it would be advisable for the other North African countries to join as members and work to apply best practices to avoid bird collisions with and electrocutions on power lines and collisions with wind farms.
The growth of electrification in North Africa has increased the number of dangerous power lines for raptors resulting in deaths by collision with wires and, especially, electrocution on poles. Bonelli’s Eagle electrocuted in Morocco. © Íñigo Fajardo
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Falcons and kestrels
Lanner falcon Falco biarmicus LC (2016) LC II II
Sooty falcon Falco concolor VU (2017) NT II II
Eleonora's falcon Falco eleonorae LC (2016) NT II II
Lesser kestrel Falco naumanni LC (2018) LC II I, II
Peregrine falcon Falco peregrinus LC (2016) LC I II
Eurasian hobby Falco subbuteo LC (2016) VU II II
Common kestrel Falco tinnunculus LC (2016) LC II II
Vultures
Cinereous vulture Aegypius monachus NT (2018) RE II II
Bearded vulture Gypaetus barbatus NT (2016) CR II II
Griffon vulture Gyps fulvus LC (2016) VU II II
Rüppell's vulture Gyps rueppelli CR (2016) CR II I, II
Egyptian vulture Neophron
percnopterus EN (2019) EN II I
Lappet-faced vulture Torgos tracheliotos EN (2016) CR II I, II
Eagles, hawks, harriers, kites and buzzards
Northern goshawk Accipiter gentilis LC (2016) CR II II
Eurasian sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus LC (2016) LC II II
Spanish imperial eagle Aquila adalberti VU (2019) RE I I, II
Golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos LC (2016) LC II II
Bonelli’s eagle Aquila fasciata LC (2016) LC II
-Tawny eagle Aquila rapax VU (2018) CR II II
Long-legged buzzard Buteo rufinus LC (2016) LC II II
Short-toed
snake eagle Circaetus gallicus LC (2016) NT II II
Western marsh-harrier Circus aeruginosus LC (2016) NT II II
Montagu's harrier Circus pygargus LC (2016) EN II II
Black-winged kite Elanus caeruleus LC (2019) LC II
-Booted eagle Hieraaetus pennatus LC (2016) LC II II
Dark
chanting-goshawk Melierax metabates LC (2016) RE II
-Black kite Milvus migrans LC (2020) LC II II
Red kite Milvus milvus LC (2020) CR (Possibly
Regionally
Extinct) II II
Osprey Pandion haliaetus LC (2016) EN II II
Owls
Marsh owl Asio capensis LC (2016) CR II
-Northern
long-eared owl Asio otus LC (2018) LC II
-Little owl Athene noctua LC (2018) LC II
-Pharaoh eagle-owl Bubo ascalaphus LC (2016) LC II
-Common scops-owl Otus scops LC (2019) LC II
-Tawny owl Strix aluco LC (2016) LC II
-Barn owl Tyto alba LC (2016) LC II
-Common name Scientific name IUCN Red List Category at the Table 5. Legal protection of birds of prey at international level in North Africa.
5. Conclusions
and recommendations
This report represents the first regional IUCN Red List assessment of the breeding birds of prey in North Africa.
Thirty-six of the 46 species occurring in the North African countries have breeding populations in the region, but 12 of them are threatened with extinction and 3 are considered extinct in the region. Threatened species are concentrated in the northernmost part of the Maghreb, in particular the Tingitana Peninsula in Morocco and the Mediterranean forests of Algeria, and in the Gebel Elba mountains, southern Nile Valley and southern Sinai in Egypt. There is a significant lack of data on population status and trends for most of the species, highlighting the need to regard census programmes as priorities for research and funding.
The outputs of this assessment can be used to inform conservation measures for individual species and suites of species. They can also be applied at the regional scale to assist governments and organisations, such as IUCN, in identifying important sites for conservation, including Key Biodiversity Areas, at national or regional scales.
To improve the conservation status of north African raptors urgent conservation measures are needed. In particular:
➜ Breeding and wintering populations of raptors, especially of threatened species, need to be surveyed and monitored to determine, protect and manage existing and potential breeding areas. Only regular counts can provide the data required to follow up raptor populations in detail.
➜ Satellite tracking of birds of prey should be carried out to locate key breeding, dispersal and wintering areas and to identify causes of unnatural mortality and other threats in order to reduce them.
➜ National and international legislation should be fully implemented and revised to protect the threatened species identified in this assessment and their habitats.
➜ Species/habitat action plans should be drawn up for the most threatened species to enable their popu-lations to recover to the point where they can be downlisted in the regional Red List.
Rüppell’s Vultures. Feeding Station at North Morocco (©Rachid El Khamlichi).
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➜ The strong regional cooperation between experts must continue and new cooperation efforts must be initiated with experts from countries where information is scarce, so that the work carried out to produce this first evaluation of the conservation status of native North African raptors can be updated as new information becomes available.
➜ Links between IUCN and its partners and decision and policy makers must be maintained and strength-ened, and the data must be made freely available to all individuals and organisations.
➜ Important nesting areas need to be identified and protected and human disturbance around nest sites must be avoided, especially in the case of tree-breeding species. Appropriate management of wood-lands should maintain old trees, prevent fires and mitigate the impact of road construction.
➜ Wide-scale habitat conservation measures are required, including the maintenance of low-intensity farming with the preservation of hedges and careful management of pesticides. Any unavoidable affor-estation or deforaffor-estation should occur outside the breeding season and should only result in partial, not total, habitat change.
➜ Raptors need to be effectively protected in breeding and wintering areas with a plentiful supply of food (which often includes the carrion of domestic animals). The provision of feeding stations would be ben-eficial for vultures, tawny eagles and red kites, particularly when food is scarce. Selection of areas and intervention methods should be included in the species action plans and protocols must be followed to ensure the safety and survival of the birds.
➜ Reintroduction and population reinforcement programmes could be used to restore Regionally Extinct and threatened species, if they are properly planned and focus on reducing threats.
➜ Dangerous electricity pylons should be retrofitted to avoid electrocutions and dangerous lines should be marked to avoid collisions. Priority areas for power line mitigation work should be identified and mea-sures to reduce mortality put in place in line with current best practice (see Box 1).
➜ A strategy to combat poisoning, poaching, shooting and illegal trade should be developed and imple-mented enforced, including stronger legislation and its enforcement, systematic monitoring at national scale, staff and police training, effective restrictions on access to and use of toxic substances, collection of information and promotion of experience-sharing between countries facing similar issues.
The provision of feeding stations is beneficial to recover breeding populations of scavengers species such Griffon and Rüppell’s Vultures. Feeding Station at North Morocco (©Rachid El Khamlichi).
Aegypius monachus Map created 17/2/2021
The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this mapdo not imply any official endorsement, acceptance or opinion by IUCN.
North Africa Raptor Red List Extant & Vagrant (passage)