BIRDIE Beta v1.0.0

The Ramsar Convention provides a framework for the conservation and wise use of all wetlands. The Convention applies nine criteria to facilitate the designation of Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites). Recognising the critical importance of waterbirds to the biodiversity and ecological character of wetlands, four criteria stand out for waterbirds.

Ramsar Criterion 2 (C2) identifies sites that support Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable species (all of which are considered to be threatened species [TSP]), including waterbirds.
Ramsar Criterion 4 (C4) identifies sites which provide critical life stage support to species, including waterbirds.
Ramsar Criterion 5 (C5) identifies sites that regularly support 20,000 or more waterbirds.
Ramsar Criterion 6 (C6) identifies sites that regularly support 1% of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of waterbird.

Summary of Waterbird Status per Ramsar Site

Research within the BIRDIE project led by Sol Plaatje University has resulted in an additional index, the Waterbird Conservation Value (WCV) index. This index sums the ratio of each species’ abundance to its published 1% threshold across all species to give an overall measure of the ‘value’ of the waterbirds at a wetland. Large values indicate that large proportions of the total populations of waterbird species are present at the wetland.

This table below is based on the abundance of the species in 2022 at the Ramsar site that are also CWAC sites.