Bonn, 16 August 2007: BirdLife International states that according to the 2007 Red Knot Assessment Report published by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Red Knot could become extinct within 10 years. Numbers of the Red Knot subspecies (Calidris canutus rufa) at their wintering grounds in South America have more than halved since 2000 to 17,000 birds only. In particular in the border region between South of Brazil and Uruguay the bird species has suffered major losses.

Some Uruguayan experts, in conjunction with other national and international organisations, are already working in the area to establish the possible causes of the casualties and the role of Uruguay as a stopover for the species.

The Red Knot, which is listed on Appendix I and 2 of the Convention, was designated for Concerted Actions by the CMS Conference of the Parties in November 2005 (COP8). CMS considers it as a priority species for CMS. The 13th Meeting of the Scientific Council had approved a species project for funding under the CMS Small Grant Programme. The project aims at estimating site specific annual survival of the Tierra del Fuego population at key sites in Argentina and Chile. A precondition to successful conservation efforts is therefore to understand and address the causes of the drastic decline of the subspecies.

Link to BirdLife