Bird species are saved from extinction

The first global audit of threatened species shows 16 species of birds nearly extinct in the mid-1990s have been saved, some increasing tenfold in number.

The majority of the bird species studied had populations of fewer than 100 in 1994, The Independent reported, but with international co-operation and funding, conservationists reversed a worldwide decline in bird types.

But environmentalists say the world's governments are still doing too little to save millions of birds from being permanently lost.

Stuart Butchart, author of the report and an expert with the British-based group BirdLife International, told The Independent: "These successes show that preventing extinctions is possible, given political will and concerted action. We need to scale up our efforts considerably to prevent wholesale biodiversity loss and many more extinctions in the coming decades."

The study appears in the journal Oryx.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International