Important Bird Areas in India : Priority Sites for Conservation/edited by M. Zafar-ul Islam and Asad R. Rahmani. Mumbai, Bombay Natural History Society, 2004, xviii, 1133 p., tables, photos. $125. ISBN 0-19-567333-6.

    Contents: Foreword. Background: I. India: General information: i. Biodiversity. ii. Vegetation characteristics within various biogeographic zones of India. II. Avifauna of India: 1. The Indian trans-Himalayas. i. Wetlands of Trans-Himalayas. ii. Globally threatened species of the Indian trans-Himalayas. 2. The Himalayan region: i. North-west Himalayas. ii. Western Himalayas. iii. Endemic bird areas of western Himalayas. iv. Restricted range species of the western Himalayas. v. Central Himalayas. vi. Eastern Himalayas. vii. Globally threatened species of the Himalayas biogeographic zone. viiii. Endemic bird areas of eastern Himalayas. ix. Globally threatened and restricted range species of the eastern Himalayas. 3. Indian Desert (Thar): i. Avifauna of the Thar desert. ii. Globally threatened species of the Indian Thar Desert. 4. The semi-arid region: Globally threatened species of the semi-arid zone. 5. The western Ghats: Globally threatened and restricted range species of the Western Ghats. 6. The Deccan Peninsula: i. Secondary areas in the Deccan Peninsula. ii. Southern Deccan Plateau (SA072). iii. Central Indian forests (SA075). 7. The Eastern Ghats: i. Secondary areas in Eastern Andhra Pradesh (SA 071). ii. Globally threatened species of the Deccan biogeographic zone. 8. The gangetic plains: i. Globally threatened bird species of the gangetic plains. 9. The Northeast India: i. Threatened birds of the northeast biogeographic zone. ii. Restricted range species of the Assam plains endemic bird area. iii. Secondary areas of northern Myanmar lowlands. 10. Islands: i. Restricted range species in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. ii. Lakshadweep. 11. Coasts: Globally threatened species found in the coasts biogeogrpahic zone. III. Wildlife legislation and policies: a brief account: The wild life (protection) Act, 1972. 1. The protected areas system: i. National Parks. ii. Wildlife sanctuaries. iii. Tiger reserves. iv. Reserve forests. v. Biosphere reserves. 2. International conventions and agreements: i. International recognition. ii. Ramsar convention. iii. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). iv. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES). v. The convention on the Conservation of migratory species of Wild animals (Bonn Convention). vi. Convention on protection of migratory birds and their habitats between India and the former USSR. vii. IBAS and the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP). Objectives and methods of Indian IBA programme: i. Aims of the inventory. ii. Site based approach. iii. Using birds to set conservation priorities. iv. Species. v. Habitats. vi. Geographic range. vii. Limitations of the IBA approach. I. Process of IBA identification and selection: 1. Indian Bird Conservation Network (IBCN): Sources of data: i. Literature survey. ii. Red data book. iii. Regional workshops and consultation. iv. Identification of gaps. v. Surveys for sites and species. vi. Capacity building training workshops. vii. Final prioritized IBAS. viii. Circulation of site accounts. 2. Categories and criteria to identify important bird areas: i. Category A1: globally threatened species. ii. Category A2: restricted range species. iii. Endemic bird areas. iv. Secondary areas. v. Category A3: biome restricted assemblages. vi. Category A4: congregation. vii. Biogeographic population. viii. 1% thresholds and applying the criteria. ix. How do the IBA criteria relate to the identification of Ramsar sites under the Ramsar convention. x. Ramsar sites in India. 2. GIS based mapping of the IBAs of India: background. 3. Data presentation: i. State accounts. ii. Site accounts. National overview: I. National overview: I. Analysis and results: i. Status of IBAs. 1. Categories and criteria met by Indian IBAs: A1: Globally threatened species. A2. Coverage of restricted range species. A3. Biome restricted assemblage. A4. Congregatory species. 2. IBAs in different vegetation types. 3. IBAs in different biogeographic zones. 4. Protection status of IBAs in different states in India. 5. Threats to IBAs. II. Some burning issues: i. Illegal bird trade by Abrar Ahmed. ii. Undermining India's ecologically sensitive areas by Neeraj Vagholikar. iii. IBAs in Northeast India: threats to habitats and opportunities for conservation by Manju Menon and Neeraj Vagholikar. iv. Can communities protect important bird areas? by Ashish Kothari and Neema Pathak. REferences. IBAs in different states of India: i. Andaman and Nicobar. ii. Andhra Pradesh. iii. Arunachal Pradesh. iv. Assam. v. Bihar. vi. Chhattisgarh. vii. Delhi. viii. Goa. ix. Gujarat. x. Haryana. xi. Himachal Pradesh. xii. Jammu and Kashmir. xiii. Jharkhand. xiv. Karnataka. xv. Kerala. xvi. Lakshadweep. xvi. Madhya Pradesh. xvii. Maharashtra. xviii. Manipur. xix. Meghalaya. xx. Mizoram. xxi. Nagaland. xxii. Orissa. xxiii. Pondicherry. xxiv. Punjab. xxv. Rajasthan. xxvi. Sikkim. xxvii. Tamil Nadu. xxviii. Tripura. xxix. Uttaranchal. xxx. Uttar Pradesh. xxxi. West Bengal. Appendices: i. Important bird areas: summary of global categories and criteria. ii. A1: Globally threatened species. iii. A2: Restricted range species. iv. A3. Biome restricted assemblage. v. A4i.: 1% of biogeographic population of waterbirds. Index to sites.

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