According to a recent study conducted by researchers from the Tour du Valat and the CESCO (ecology and conservation sciences centre at the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle / Sorbonne University / CNRS), the international conventions for the protection of biodiversity are having a positive impact on how bird populations in the Mediterranean Basin adapt to climate change.
While scientific evidence has accumulated on the fact that climate change represents one of the main threats for biodiversity, this study evaluates the effectiveness of international conservation policies in terms of facilitating the reorganisation of bird communities that has been predicted in response to increasing temperatures. The Tour du Valat and the CESCO have focused their attention on two European conventions whose goal is to conserve biodiversity in its relationship with human activities: the Bern Convention and the Birds Directive.
The populations of wintering waterbirds were analysed for 145 species in 22 Mediterranean countries, based on the data collected in the framework of participative monitoring. Our findings show that bird communities are adjusting more easily to increasing temperatures in the countries in which the Bern Convention has been ratified, and even better if the Birds Directive is also strictly applied. Such is the case for example of species like the Black-winged Stilt, the Green Sandpiper, and the Common Sandpiper.
These results encourage us to continue implementing these international agreements that aim to protect species and their habitats.
Bibliographical reference: Gaget E., Galewski T., Jiguet F., Le Viol I. 2018. Waterbird communities adjust to climate warming according to conservation policy and species protection status. Biological Conservation 227:205–212. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2018.09.019
Video of the project: https://vimeo.com/263480522
Press contacts:
- Tour du Valat: Gwenael Wasse /Ph. +33 (0)4 90 97 20 13
- Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle: Samya Ramdane +33 (0)1 40 79 54 40 or Flore Goldhaber +33 (0)1 70 79 38 00 / e-mail: presse@mnhn.fr