How can BirdLife DataZone support conservation decision-making?

Updated

BirdLife DataZone supports conservation decision-making by putting BirdLife International's biodiversity data, knowledge, and tools into one public platform. It is most useful when you need to identify which bird species are at greatest risk, which sites matter most for their conservation, what threats are most urgent, and which actions or policies are being proposed. The site is built for decision-makers and conservation practitioners, and it draws on the collective expertise of the entire BirdLife Partnership.

What data you can use

The DataZone presents several core datasets that can anchor a conservation decision:

Data type Count shown on the site Typical decision use
Bird species 11,185 Screening species for extinction risk and conservation priority
Important sites for birds 13,958 Prioritising site-based protection or management
Country profiles 251 Comparing national context and obligations
Flyway profiles 16 Planning across migratory routes

These figures are the platform's own headline counts. They give you a quick sense of scale before you drill into a specific species, site, country, or flyway.

How it helps you decide

Identify species and sites at greatest risk

The DataZone states that the BirdLife Partnership works to identify the bird species at greatest risk of extinction and the most important sites for their conservation. For a decision-maker, this means you can start from a defined conservation priority rather than assembling evidence from scratch.

Understand threats, actions, and policies

The platform links its science to the most urgent threats, the actions required to tackle them, and the policies needed to sustain nature. This is useful when a decision needs a rationale that connects a biodiversity problem to a response.

Use tools for evidence-based decisions

The Tools section is explicitly framed around supporting evidence-based decision-making. If your task is to justify a site designation, a funding allocation, or a policy position, the tools and underlying data are the intended starting point.

Draw on current science and policy resources

The Topics and Publications sections let you explore BirdLife's science and policy resources by theme or read reports written by BirdLife alone or with partners. The Policy section explains how BirdLife's science informs its conservation policy work.

A practical example

Suppose you are preparing a brief on migratory bird conservation. You could:

  1. Open the flyway profiles to frame the geographic scope.
  2. Check the relevant country profiles for national context.
  3. Use the species and site data to identify priorities within that flyway.
  4. Consult the latest State of the World's Birds report, whose sixth edition focuses on migratory birds and flyways and on what they reveal about the state of nature, the drivers of biodiversity loss, and solutions to reverse declines.
  5. Use the Publications and Policy sections to connect the evidence to recommended action.

Contributing and supporting the platform

The DataZone also links to the Globally Threatened Bird Forums, where professionals and amateurs — birdwatchers, researchers, or conservationists — can contribute information on bird species relevant to threat-status assessment and conservation. The site notes that it relies on donations to keep the service running.