State of Africa’s Birds
Infrastructure development is a growing problem
PRESSURE: Why birds are declining IBAs are close to development corridors
A large proportion (38%) of IBAs in East Africa are close (0-10km) to major development corridors (BirdLife International, 2016). This is of great concern, since such major planned developments, which include roads, railways, oil pipelines and ports, are likely to pose threats to these IBAs. Relatively smaller proportions of IBAs are close to development corridors in Central (18%), Southern (16%) and West Africa (13%).
FIG 10: Map of African IBAs and their proximity to development corridors SOURCE The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) Data
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FIG 11: Map of Africa showing IBA distances to development corridors