The CSN Tool will be a central information portal, integrating current knowledge on migratory waterbirds along the African-Eurasian Flyways. This new web-based application will support the identification and conservation of the network of sites used by waterbirds to complete their annual migrations across Africa and Eurasia. The CSN Tool will foster international cooperation among a wide range of government and non-government organizations towards flyway level conservation of migratory waterbirds.
What can the CSN Tool do for you?
This application will benefit everyone dealing with waterbirds and with wetlands management. At the flyway-scale, it will show the key sites for any waterbird population in the AEWA region. At the site level, it will help site managers to identify the significance of their site in the flyway context for each waterbird population their area hosts. In addition, the system will illustrate site boundaries, changes in population size over time and ecological requirements to help inform practical site management. The Critical Site Network Tool will also assist in the development of International Single Species Action Plans, systematic identification of wetlands to be protected under the Ramsar convention, and assist site managers and environmental impact assessment practitioners to access relevant information.
In summary, the CSN Tool will allow conservation managers and policy makers at the local, national and international level to:
• Identify the key sites used by a specific population of waterbirds along their entire migration route
• Understand the importance of a site for a specific population, and the ecological role of that site in the context of the whole flyway
• Verify the conservation status of a specific site
• Illustrate the boundaries of a specific site
• Show how population numbers are changing over time at a specific site
• Show the importance of a site from a flyway-scale perspective
• Provide practical information on the ecological requirements of waterbirds to help site management
Target users
The CSN Tool is aimed at conservation practitioners, decision-makers and planners at local, national and international level. It will help national authorities across the African-Eurasian region identify what critical sites fall into their national jurisdiction and highlight the importance of individual sites in a flyways context. The tool will assist international waterbird conservation efforts by providing the information needed to better protect waterbird species across their entire migratory range. It will help all stakeholders involved in the transboundary conservation of waterbirds to target their efforts to fulfil their obligations under relevant international treaties including i.e. the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the Convention on Migratory Species and the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement and the EU Birds Directive.
How does it work?
The CSN Tool will bring together information held in the three main databases used for international waterbird and wetland conservation. It will make this currently dispersed data available in a central, open and searchable Web-based interface. The tool is being developed by the World Conservation and Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) in collaboration with Wetlands International and BirdLife International. The CSN Tool will provide comprehensive site and flyway scale information for 300 waterbird species, including all 235 species covered by the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA). The CSN Tool will also combine information from key existing datasets on migratory waterbirds and their critical habitats, including:
World Bird Database
The World Bird Database (WBDB) is managed by BirdLife International and stores information on all of the world’s bird species and the key sites identified for their conservation (Important Bird Areas) on behalf on the BirdLife Partnership of nationally based NGOs. The species information contained within the WBDB (which includes information on population size, distribution, threats, habitats, ecology and taxonomy) forms the basis upon which all bird species are assessed for their IUCN Red List status by BirdLife. BirdLife’s Important Bird Area (IBA) programme aims to identify (using standard quantitative criteria), document and protect a network of sites critical for the conservation of the world’s birds. The WBDB holds a variety of site information, as well as information on population sizes of the different bird species present, focusing particularly on the species with numbers meeting IBA criteria.
International Waterbird Census Database
The IWC Database includes over 25,000 sites and contains the most complete waterbird count data available in the African-Eurasian region. The IWC is an annual census of waterbirds in more than 100 countries and takes place in mid-January each year. Close to 15,000 voluntary expert observers count between 30 million and 40 million waterbirds using a standardized method involving the collection, checking, and importing of national and regional waterbird census data. The international census is coordinated by Wetlands International – one of the leading global NGOs dedicated to the conservation and wise use of wetlands.
Ramsar Sites Information Service (RSIS)
The Ramsar Sites Information Service provides data on wetlands designated as internationally important under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, generally called Ramsar sites. The information included in the database derives from the Ramsar Information Sheet, the Ramsar National Report and/or from Administrative Authority correspondence provided by Contracting Parties. This includes information on wetland types, land uses, threats, hydrological values of the sites etc.
The World Database on Protected Areas (UNEP-WCMC)
The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) provides the most comprehensive dataset on protected areas worldwide and is managed by UNEP-WCMC in partnership with the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) and the World Database on Protected Areas Consortium. The WDPA is a fully relational database containing information on the status, environment and management of individual protected areas.
CSN Tool Preview:
A working prototype of the CSN Tool is already available at: http://development-maps.unep-wcmc.org/wow/default.aspx. The prototype is focusing on developing the functionalities of the portal while the underlying data are still being improved. Hence, it does not yet display the final Critical Site Networks. However, it is made accessible to the waterbird conservation community here to gather comments and ideas in relation to the functionalities of the portal.
For a demonstration of the CSN Tool and its functionalities please view the following video: [ Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV ]
When will the tool be available?
A working version of the CSN portal which will provide definitive information about Critical Site Networks for waterbird populations within the AEWA area will be available from October 2009. CD Rom and paper versions are also going to be published in 2010.
Further information:
For more information please contact the CSN Tool Development Team: Szabolcs Nagy ; Nicky Petkov; Vicky Jones and Craig Mills.
Or download the CSN Tool Flyer: