An atlas of wader populations in Africa and western Eurasia

The African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) came into force o n 1 November 1999. Effective implementation of the AEWA Agreement and Actio n Plan requires that detailed knowledge be readily available on the limits of the populations of migratory waterbirds covered by the Agreement; their migration routes; the sizes and trends of their populations; and the networ ks of sites which are critical for their survival. It is particularly impor tant that the limits of each population be defined on a map, since these co nstitute the units on which the estimation of population size and 1% criter ia, determination of trends, and identification of key sites are based. For the ducks, geese and swans of the AEWA region, this information was compil ed in the Atlas of Anatidae Populations in Africa and Western Eurasia (Scot t & Rose 1996). Following this, the International Wader Study Group, a Spec ialist Group of Wetlands International, is now preparing a similar publicat ion on the waders covered by AEWA, the Atlas of Wader Populations in Africa and Western Eurasia (Kirby et al. 1999), referred to hereafter as the Wade r Atlas. Introductory chapters and 39 species accounts have been written. T hese were distributed as a consultation draft at the First Meeting of Parti es of AEWA in Cape Town in November 1999. The consultation draft of the Wad er Atlas includes 29 species that breed in Eurasia (but often winter in Afr ica), and 10 Afrotropical species. Species accounts still need to be writte n for 20 species breeding in Eurasia, and 29 that live in Africa. In this p aper we discuss the way the project has been tackled, some results, its str ong points, aspects that could perhaps be improved upon, and how amateur an d professional ornithologists active in Africa might contribute.