Asia Overview
 Pete Morris/Birdquest
The Steller's Sea-eagle Haliaeetus leucoryphus (Vulnerable) is declining because of habitat degradation and disturbance.
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The region
The Asian region extends from the tropical islands of Indonesia and the Philippines to the Arctic tundra of north-eastern Russia, and from the hot deserts of Pakistan and western India across the highest mountain ranges in the world to the rainforests of South-East Asia.
The great diversity of habitats embraced by this region is reflected in a great diversity of bird species: about 2,700 occur, representing over 25% of all bird species on Earth. Asia also supports 3.5 billion of the world's human population of 6 billion (over 50% of all people on earth), and includes the two most populous countries and some of the most dynamic economies in the world. Almost all of Asia's natural habitats are consequently under enormous pressure, and many of the species that depend on them are now of global conservation concern.
Threatened birds
Around one in eight (12%) of all bird species in the Asian region is globally threatened. In BirdLife's 2005 IUCN Red List Update a total of 335 Asian bird species were identified as being at risk of extinction over the next 100 years.
Most worryingly, 45 of these were classified as being Critically Endangered, and a further 69 as Endangered. These species face a high risk of extinction over the next 10 years.
An additional 336 Near Threatened species are close to qualifying as globally threatened.
Habitats and threats
Forests are by far the most important of all the habitats for threatened bird species in Asia, supporting around 80% of the total. The single most important forest type is tropical lowland moist forest, and it is human over exploitation of this resource, and conversion to other land-uses, that is by far the most significant threat to the region's birds and other biodiversity. Wetlands are also relatively important in the Asian region, with c.20% of threatened species found in such habitats.
 P Jepson
Logging operations on Halmahera, Indonesia, are focused on lowland forest, the most important habitat for many bird species.
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Habitats and threats
Forests are by far the most important of all the habitats for threatened bird species in Asia, supporting around 80% of the total. The single most important forest type is tropical lowland moist forest, and it is human over exploitation of this resource, and conversion to other land-uses, that is by far the most significant threat to the region's birds and other biodiversity. Wetlands are also relatively important in the Asian region, with c.20% of threatened species found in such habitats.
After habitat loss, human exploitation is the second most common threat impacting >50% of all threatened species. Of these latter, c.70% are currently taken for food and c.30% for the cagebird trade. The keeping of birds for their beauty and song is hugely popular in the region and, with increasing prosperity, demand is expected to rise especially for the rarer species. There is mounting concern that many more species, even those with wide ranges, may qualify as globally threatened in the near future owing to the effects of bird trade.
Conservation
Recent conservation analyses have identified priority areas within the Asian region, including BirdLife International's Endemic Bird Areas (EBAs), Conservation International's Hotspots, and WWF's G200 Ecoregions. BirdLife has identified 49 EBAs in Asia, based upon an analysis of the distributions of restricted-range bird species. Conservation International have identified six hotspots in Asia, areas with both a high degree of endemism and a high level of threat: Sundaland; Indo-Burma; the Philippines; the mountains of south-central China; the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka; and Wallacea.
Important Bird Areas in Asia, published by BirdLife in 2004, identifies 2,293 sites, covering 7.6% of the region's total land area, of which 976 (43%) are unprotected and a further 325 (14%) are only partially protected.