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Produced by IUCN-SSC/Wetlands International Flamingo Specialist Group; Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust: Wetlands International and BirdLife International Africa Partnership

Executive Summary:
Although the most numerous of the world’s flamingos, the Lesser Flamingo is classified “Near Threatened”
in the 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, indicating that it is considered likely to qualify for a
threatened category in the near future. The species is also listed in Columns A and B of the Agreement on the
Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) Action Plan, Appendix II of the Bonn
Convention (CMS) and Appendix II of the CITES convention. Implicit in these agreements is the need for
the production of a conservation action plan.
The Lesser Flamingo is an itinerant species adapted to respond to changes in local environmental conditions
by moving among wetlands, and thus depends on a network of suitable sites. Four separate populations are
recognised for conservation purposes, although it is assumed that some interchanges probably occur among
them. The largest population, estimated to be 1.5 – 2.5 million individuals, occurs on the alkaline-saline lakes
of the Great Rift Valley in East Africa, where aggregations of several hundred thousand birds regularly
provide one of the world’s most impressive wildlife spectacles. Smaller populations occur in the Rann of
Kachchh in north-western India, estimated to be approximately 390,000 birds, in southern Africa, estimated
to be 55,000 – 65,000 birds and in West Africa, estimated to be 15,000 – 25,000 birds. Declines have been
suggested for much of Africa, but are difficult to clarify due to widescale movement within the continent.
The Lesser Flamingo occurs regularly in 30 countries from West Africa, across sub-Saharan Africa and
along the SW Asian coast to South Asia, and occurs as a vagrant in 26 additional countries. However, its
global population is concentrated in 12 primary range states. Because of its specialized diet of microscopic
alkaline cyanobacteria (‘blue-green algae’), the Lesser Flamingo is totally dependent on a habitat of shallow
saline/alkaline lakes, pans, wetlands and coastal areas, and >95% of its non-breeding population is
concentrated at just 73 sites in the 12 primary range states.
Confirmed regular breeding is confined to just five sites in four of these countries: Makgadikgadi Pans in
Botswana, Etosha Pan in Namibia, Lake Natron in Tanzania, and Zinzuwada and Purabcheria salt pans in
India. Breeding occurred at Lake Abijata in Ethiopia in 2005, producing approximately 3,000 chicks, and has
also occurred in 2008 on a new artificial breeding island at Kamfers Dam in Kimberley, South Africa,
producing approximately 9,000 chicks. However, it is not yet known whether these sites will become regular
breeding sites. Other major breeding sites near Bela in the Great Rann of Kachchh in India and in Aftout es
Sâheli in Mauritania are also suspected, but have yet to be documented.
The major threats to the survival of the Lesser Flamingo are the loss and/or the degradation of its specialised
habitat at these key sites through altered hydrology and water quality, wetland pollution, extraction of salt
and soda ash, particularly at its breeding sites, and the disruption of its few breeding colonies by other human
activities. Other threats include disruption of nesting colonies by predators, particularly by the Marabou
Stork (Leptoptilos crumeniferus), poisoning, disease, harvesting of eggs and live birds, human disturbance at
non-breeding sites, predation, and competition for food and breeding sites.
Lake Natron in Tanzania is by far the most important breeding site for this species, as it is the only breeding
site for the East African population that accounts for >75% of the species’ global population. For this reason,
the currently proposed soda extraction facility at this unprotected site represents a potentially serious threat
to the survival of the entire species. Of the other confirmed regular breeding sites, only Etosha Pan and the
two sites in India are officially protected.
The activities identified in this plan focus on measures to address these threats and fill current knowledge
gaps. These measures include protecting the Lesser Flamingo and its habitats, appropriate management of
key sites and increasing public awareness of the need for protecting the Lesser Flamingo and its habitats.
This action plan is based on the AEWA International Single Species Action Plan format prepared by
BirdLife International and provides a framework for the conservation of the Lesser Flamingo in all of its
primary range states. The plan has been developed using internationally agreed standards including the
monitoring and evaluation of implementation, linking threats, actions and measurable activities. Because the
Lesser Flamingo is an itinerant species dependent on a network of sites in several countries, successful
implementation of the plan will require effective international coordination of organisation and action.
The long-term goal of this plan is to upgrade the Lesser Flamingo from a “near-threatened” species to a
species of “least concern” in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. In the short term, the aim is to
maintain the species’ current population and range, while the medium-term goal is to promote an increase in
population size and range. Each country within the primary range of the Lesser Flamingo should be
committed to the implementation of this plan, including the development of national Lesser Flamingo action
plans and the establishment of national Lesser Flamingo working groups to facilitate implementation.