Prelims: Current events of national and international importance | Environment
Why in News?
BirdLife International published its flagship quadrennial report, State of the World’s Birds (Flyways Edition) 2026, at the Global Flyways Summit held in Nairobi, Kenya.
Key findings of the report
- Declining Population - Nearly 45% (almost half) of global migratory bird species are undergoing population declines.
- Extinction Risk- 1 in 9 (11%) migratory bird species are currently threatened with global extinction.
- Degraded Habitats - Scientific monitoring reveals that 58% of 1,099 Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) critical for migratory birds are in poor or very poor ecological condition.
- Most Vulnerable Groups - Seabirds and shorebirds, which rely heavily on coastal intertidal wetlands and marine ecosystems are faring the worst among avian groups.
- Primary Drivers of Decline
- Agricultural expansion and intensification.
- Loss and fragmentation of critical staging/stopover habitats along migration routes.
- Illegal killing, hunting, and trapping (an estimated 13 million to 42 million birds taken annually in Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East).
- Climate change, invasive alien species, and energy infrastructure collision risks.
The Nairobi Flyways Declaration
- Core Premise - Formally recognizes that isolated national conservation efforts are insufficient for migratory birds.
- Survival requires synchronized, transboundary action across entire flyways (the continental corridors connecting breeding, stopover, and wintering grounds).
- Multi-Sectoral Commitment- Over 100 organizations, including national governments, international research bodies, conservation NGOs, and financial institutions, signed the declaration.
- Integration of Development Finance- Marks a major policy shift where multilateral development banks are explicitly integrating flyway conservation into their large-scale infrastructure and regional development lending frameworks.
Major Financial Commitments
- Asian Development Bank (ADB) - Plans to mobilize $3 billion over the next decade under its Regional Flyway Initiative to protect at least 50 priority wetland ecosystems along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF).
- Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF)- Committing $3 billion to $5 billion by 2050 to safeguard over 30 key terrestrial and marine landscapes along the Americas flyways.
- World Bank & BirdLife Partnership- Pledging multi-billion-dollar frameworks targeted at protecting flyway networks spanning Africa, Europe, and Asia supporting over 2 billion migratory birds.
Reference
Down to Earth | Almost half of migratory bird species now in decline
