Hang In, Chad

Nearly 10 percent of African bird species are threatened with extinction, according to a newly completed eight-year study published by BirdLife International, an international coalition of conservation groups. The study said many of the species could be saved if 7 percent of the African continent was protected. It identified 1,228 important bird areas, and found that 51 percent of them were threatened by the expansion of agriculture and development, 47 percent by hunting and logging for firewood, and 20 percent by commercial logging. The largest unprotected area was in Chad. The study noted that sound environmental planning in Africa is often thwarted by such factors as poverty, civil conflict, and international debt.