The Critical Site Network (CSN) Tool is an online resource for the conservation of 294 species of waterbirds and the important sites upon which they depend in Africa and Western Eurasia. Leading global conservation organisations working for the protection of waterbirds and their habitats joined forces to develop this tool, strengthening the implementation of the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

The tool makes it easy to obtain information on the sites critical for waterbird species by accessing several independent databases and analysing information at the biogeographical population level, so providing a comprehensive basis for management and decision making. It is designed to help a range of different users from site managers to national authorities and international organisations. The CSN Tool, one of the major achievements of the Wings Over Wetlands (WOW) project, is also an important example of the added value of cooperation between likeminded conservation organisations, international conventions and agreements, governments, UN agencies and other donors.

The CSN Tool supports both AEWA and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. It is also relevant to the EU Birds Directive and the Bern Convention’s Emerald Network.

To access the CSN Tool please click here or use this link:

http://csntool.wingsoverwetlands.org/csn/default.html

IMPORTANT NOTE: The Critical Site Network tool runs in the Adobe Flash Player and is 807Kb in size. This will take approximately 6s (1 Mbps) to 3m 44s (28.8Kps) to download and only needs to be downloaded once. In addition, the site is best viewed at a screen resolution of 1280x1024.

For further information please see:

• The Critical Site Network (CSN) Tool Flyer (English Version - Published 14 June 2010 - PDF Format)
• The Critical Site Network (CSN) Tool Flyer (Arabic Version - Published 8 July 2011 - PDF Format)

Related Publications:

• The Critical Site Network: Conservationi of Internationally Important Sites for Waterbirds in the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement Area

Or contact the CSN Tool Development Team: Szabolcs Nagy ;  Vicky Jones and Andrew Cottam. 

Critical Site Network (CSN) Tool Powerpoint Presentation

Presentation of the Wings Over Wetlands (WOW) Project Critical Site Network (CSN) Tool at the 15th Anniversary of AEWA Symposium on 14 June 2010  in The Hague, the Netherlands.

Interviews with the CSN Tool's Development Team

Below you will find a selection of interviews conducted with members of the CSN Tool Development Team during the 15th Anniversary of AEWA Symposium on 14 June 2010  in The Hague, the Netherlands.