conservation of the liben lark

7/28/2019 Conservation of the Liben Lark

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Conservation of the Endemic Liben Lark

in Southern Ethiopia

Yilma Dellelegn Abebe

Ethiopian Wildlife & Natural History Society



Introduction

• Description of species

• History and Natural History

•

Conservation work – threats• Challenges

• Future



The Liben Lark - Description

• Unique amongst larks.

• Long legs, Long hind

toes, long necks and

small almost triangularshaped head.

• Believed to be the

ancestor to other lark

species and therefore

primitive.



The Liben Lark – Natural History

• Weak fluttering flight

• Soft flight feathers

• Pencil thin tails and brief

aerial song displays• Unable to retract its long

hind claws.

• Range is tiny (not more

than 40 sq km)

• One of 32 endemic

species in Ethiopia



The Liben Lark - History

•Discovered first in 1968by Christian Erard.

• Its status as a new speciesto science was recognizedin 1975.

• Rediscovered back in2001.

• Used to be known as theSidamo Long-clawed Lark

•

Its status was not knownuntil 2007 when a seriesof surveys wereconducted.



The Liben Lark - History

• Currently with a

population of not more

than 200 individuals

and a number of threatsit is listed as critically

endangered.



History

• Surveys in 2007

confirmed a number of

things.

–Its range previouslyestimated at 750 sq km

was only 40 sq km.

– Its population previously

thought to be about2000 birds was

estimated to between

90-256 individuals.



Long grass on the Liben plains –

Ideal habitat for the Liben Lark



Liben Lark – Natural History

• Very little is known of this

endangered and endemic

species.

• Its eggs were first seen and

described in 2007 by a

group of Ethiopian & British

scientists.

• It lays its eggs on the

ground usually under asmall herb or clump of

grass.



Threats



Threat 1 - Agriculture



Threats 1- Agriculture



Threats 2- Overgrazing

Bare areas formed by ants



Threats 2 - Overgrazing



Threat 3 - Bush infestation

Areas with bush and scrubgrowth

Overgrazed but still fair habitatfor the Liben Lark



Threat 4 – Donkey Carts and Paths

Donkey carts are commonly usedfor transport on the Dida Liben

Continual use creates paths(scars on the plains)



Conservation work

Consulting local people during all steps

of conservation action insures success



Conservation work

Bush infestation decreasesgrazing areas and habitat forbirds

Bush clearing by local people toincrease pasture and habitat forbirds



Conservation work

Section of the plains cleared of bush and scrub – more

suitable as a habitat for the Liben Lark



Conservation work

Former experimental enclosureof 4 ha A closer view of the enclosure



Conservation work

Enclosure made by localsDetail of the fencing with thornbranches



Challenges

• Creating rapport with local communities takes

lots of time

• Finding commitment in people

• Too many stakeholders to deal with

• Project is always limited in time

•

Expectation from an NGO is high• Policies are not supportive



Future

• More time is needed to see change _ Projects

are always limited to a few years time.

• We must ensure sustainability of the project

– Sustainability has different meanings. It can be

associated to our lifestyle. Using no more than our

fair share of the planet’s resources. It is also

associated to balancing our needs to the needs of the environment. It can mean living in harmony

with the immediate environment we live in.



Future

• One good way of ensuring sustainability is to

hand over the project slowly to local people

– Establishing a site support group.

– Establishing a concern group that would stand for

the environment.

– Coming up with a system where local people

generate a livelihood from nature.



The End

• Picture credits

– Cagan Sekercioglu

– Amano Samarpan

– Mengistu Wondafrash

– Paul Donald

– Yilma Dellelegn

conservation of the liben lark

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