Protecting birds by conserving their habitats
The Landscape Conservation Programme (LCP) works to conserve South Africa’s indigenous, endemic and threatened bird species by protecting the habitats they depend on through scientific research, management and stakeholder engagement. Aligned with BirdLife International’s global pillars, the LCP focuses on saving species, conserving sites and habitats, keeping common birds common, and promoting ecological sustainability. Its vision is to secure resilient bird populations by safeguarding threatened natural landscapes and the essential ecological services they provide. The LCP supports the recovery of terrestrial bird populations and strengthens the protection and management of ecologically important sites through scientifically grounded projects and by encouraging people to value nature. Major threats include habitat loss, fragmentation, invasive species, pollution and declining water quality.
Through Biodiversity Stewardship, the LCP has contributed to the formal protection of over 150,000 hectares of privately protected areas, such as Nature Reserves and Protected Environments, in the grasslands of Mpumalanga, the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, and estuaries in the Western Cape. In addition, we provide post-proclamation support to these declared areas, providing valuable extension services to landowners. We also use flagship species, such as White-winged Flufftail and Botha’s Lark, to highlight the importance of private, communal, and government land to bird conservation.
