Animals – Hanover – New red list of breeding birds shows loss of species diversity – Knowledge
Hanover (dpa/lni) – A total of 36 of the bird species native to Lower Saxony and Bremen are threatened with extinction, 15 species have already become extinct since records began: The ninth version presented on Wednesday by the Ministry of the Environment and the Lower Saxony State Office for Water Management, Coastal Protection and Nature Conservation of the Red List of Breeding Birds documents the loss of biodiversity in Lower Saxony and Bremen. Only 43 percent of the breeding birds are considered endangered.
“This new list shows how great the pressure to act is,” said Environment Minister Olaf Lies. He spoke of shocking results. “The disappearance of species and the decline of humans in our landscape have reached a new dimension,” said study author Thorsten Krüger.
According to the list, a total of 212 bird species breed in both federal states. 43 percent are considered endangered, another 14 percent are on the early warning list – this applies to species that are not yet endangered, but whose population has decreased noticeably.
A look at the main habitats shows that 15 out of 20 species that primarily settle in agricultural open land are endangered or already extinct. Of the species that live mainly in bogs, heaths and wastelands, 17 out of 23 species are endangered.
During the presentation, Minister Lies referred to various measures to counteract the decline in biodiversity: The “Lower Saxony Way”, which began with environmental protection and agriculture, is intended to tackle bird protection consistently, as well as bird protection projects co-financed by the European Union. Germany generally has to spend more money on nature and species protection.
Red Lists have been issued by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources since 1960. In Germany they appeared in 1971.
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