Important Bird Areas in the Middle 
East: an update 
Mike Evans 
This project was launched last year by OSME and the Intematiorml 
Council for Bird Preservation, with the aim of compiling essential 
information on all sites in the region which are important for bird 
conservation, to be published as a book in 1993. The book will be widely 
distributed to governments and other decision makers in the area, with 
the intention Q\at it will promote further initiatives at these sites, eg 
activity in education, monitoring, protection and legislation. Participation 
by all interested individuals and organisations is most welcome and is 
strongly encouraged; please write to the address at the end of this article 
for details of the project, in English or Arabic. 
Since the last progress report (OSME Bull. 28: 39-40), data collection has 
begun in earnest, with data-sheets and associated instructions having 
been sent out to numerous participants. A network of contacts continues 
to be developed to cover all countries in the region, although current 
events in Iraq and Afghanistan are making it difficult to find participants 
in those countries. Data-collection is being undertaken primarily within 
each country, by governmental wildlife conservation agencies, by NGOs 
and by individual birders. 
At the end of the project, groups within each country will have all the 
collected national data at their disposal, and it is hoped that an impetus 
of interest and concern will have been reached whereby the important 
sites in each country will continue to be watched, the quality of information 
on them will continue to be upgraded, their status will be monitored, and 
ways will actively be sought to ensure their continued existence in the 
face of any threats. 
My job as co-ordinator is to provide help to all participants wherever 
possible, eg by finding data, seeking out further contacts, putting people 
in touch and so on, as well as compiling data-sheets myself from the 
literature for any remaining areas which lack active participants, eg Iraq. 
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you are interested in participating; 
I can assure you that any contribution will be worthwhile. An example 
of a completed data sheet follows this article; the data-sheet is easy to fill 
in, and you will be contributing towards conservation at the same time. 
Mike Evans, Project Co-ordinator, IB As in the Middle East, ICBP, 32 Cambridge 
Road, Girton, Cambridge CBS OP], UK 
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