New Libyan waterbirds atlas

This video is from Italy, about an Audoin´s gull.

Fortunately, not all news from Libya is about bloodshed, torture, or violation of women’s rights.

From the Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas in Tunisia:

Edition of the Atlas of wintering Waterbirds of Libya: 2005-2010

As part of the implementation of the “Action Plan for the Conservation of Bird Species listed in Annex II to the SPA/BD Protocol” and in order to fill many gaps in the knowledge concerning coastal and pelagic birds in the Mediterranean, RAC/SPA has, for several years, supported the organisation of winter waterbirds census in Libya in close collaboration with the Environment General Authority (EGA). Many other national and international organisations have participated in this activity.

This field work has allowed the gathering of valuable data that has formed the basis for developing the “Atlas of wintering Waterbirds of Libya”.

RAC/SPA have had the pleasure of contributing to the setting up of a team of national and international ornithologists, who have shown great enthusiasm and passion in working together in Libya.

This book is the first of its kind for North Africa.

BirdLife in the Netherlands writes about it (translated from Dutch):

Some endangered species, relatively widespread in Libya, are Audouin’s gull and ferruginous duck. The slender-billed curlew, the species that gave rise to an important start to the counts, was not found.

Etayeb, K. S., Berbash, A., Bashimam, W., Bouzainen, M., Galidana, A., Saied, M., Yahia, J. & Bourass, E. (2015). Results of the eighth winter waterbird census in Libya in January 2012. Biodiversity Journal 6(1): 253–262: here.

Monti´s cuts mean more bird crime in Italy: here.

November 2012: Sahara Conservation Fund‘s colleagues in Tunisia, Algeria and Libya have found hundreds of photos showing the goriest scenes of wildlife slaughter on the internet: here.

Hundreds of armed militias have a “stranglehold” on Libya and are committing gross human rights violations with impunity, Amnesty International warned this today: here.

Libya’s outgoing National Transitional Council said on Thursday that Islamic law (sharia) should be the “main” source of legislation and that this should not be subject to a referendum: here.

NATO-installed regime seeks “democratic” cover in Libyan elections: here.

Ornithological values of wetlands in Guerbes-Sanhadja eco-complex (Algeria): here.

Algeria: Waterbird monitoring at the mouth of the wadi Oued Boukhmira during the period November 2005-March 2006 revealed the presence of 12 families of waterbirds represented by 33 species. This population is composed of wintering, resident and migratory individuals. This study explores the dynamics of the avian population of the site and its spatio-temporal structure. Despite its rich birdlife and its role as a safe refuge, Boukhmira Wadi is subject to heavy anthropogenic pressure and urgent measures are needed to ensure the future of the bird sanctuary: here.

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