Surfbirds News

The successful meeting, which was attended by WWT's head of species conservation Dr Baz Hughes, is a huge stride forward in the conservation of the lesser flamingo. It means that governments across the lesser flamingo's range have committed to putting measures in place to conserve this important bird and its habitats.

Lesser Flamingo, copyright Richard Taylor-Jones, courtesy Wildlife and Wetlands Trust

The action plan, put together by WWT and the IUCN-SSC/Wetlands International Flamingo Specialist Group, outlines the main threats to the species and the key activities needed to address them. The long-term goal is to upgrade this bird from its current IUCN Red-List status of 'near threatened' to 'least concern'.

The lesser flamingo, which can be seen at WWT's Slimbridge Wetland Centre, adapts to changes in local environmental conditions by moving among a network of suitable wetlands. As Baz explains: "The major threats to the survival of the lesser flamingo are the loss and degradation of its specialised habitat at key sites through altered hydrology and water quality, wetland pollution, extraction of salt and soda ash, and the disruption of its few breeding colonies by human activities. The action plan we've produced identifies measures to address these threats and fill current knowledge gaps, providing a framework for conservation across the
lesser flamingo's range."

Lesser Flamingo, copyright Richard Taylor-Jones, courtesy Wildlife and Wetlands Trust