Program

All five species of bustard (Otididae) known from the Palaearctic region have suffered significant negative changes in status since 1900 (two of them since 1800). Great Bustard Otis tarda once had a near-continuous range across the region, but now barely survives in remnant populations too disjunct for gene exchange and still subject to relentless hunting, agricultural intensification and powerline mortalities. Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax had a similar semi-continuous range from North Africa to westernmost China, with major population centres in Iberia and Central Asia, but has suffered often unexplained extinctions in many countries and now a catastrophic collapse in Iberia attributable to sweeping agricultural land-use change and again powerlines, while birds in Central Asia have a worrying dependency on a few unprotected key wintering areas. Arabian Bustard Ardeotis arabs was patchily common across Morocco around 1900, but was exterminated by colonial hunting with rifles. African Houbara Chlamydotis undulata has also suffered from foreign (Gulf State) hunters, whose financial and physical autonomy has totally concealed their impact on the species; the single (doubtlessly well-intentioned) compensatory measure of industrial-scale captive breeding only puts wild populations in further jeopardy through genetic swamping or simple replacement. Identical problems afflict Asian Houbara C. macqueenii: its sedentary populations in Arabia have been exterminated by uncontrolled hunting, while its eastern migratory populations face scientifically unscrutinised pressures from uncontrolled hunting, genetic swamping and powerline proliferation. Moreover, all species face catastrophic losses from near-future temperature rises. Their conservation requires revolutions in the management of habitats and land use at larger scales; in the regulation of houbara hunting, to become truly sustainable without massive ex-situ programmes; and in current endeavours at atmospheric CO2 reduction.