This is the first ever report on the ‘state of the world’s migratory species’ and was published through collaboration between UNEP-WCMC (UN Environment Programme - World Conservation Monitoring Centre) and CMS (Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species), the global treaty for conservation and management of migratory species and their habitats. It was published in February 2024.This report is intended as a response to UN climate change conference, COP 13, that mandated a review of conservation status of migratory species. Towards this, the report provides an overview of current state and long-term trends in conservation of migratory species listed by CMS, Red List Index (RLI), and Living Planet Index (LPI) and examines key threats. Migratory species are defined by CMS as: “The entire population or any geographically separate part of the population of any species or lower taxon of wild animals, a significant proportion of whose members cyclically and predictably cross one or more national jurisdictional boundaries.” They provide food, income, cultural values, crop pollination, ecosystem regulation and act as valuable indicators on health of habitats along the routes. The report states that one in five CMS-listed species are threatened with extinction and as high as 44 per cent are experiencing population declines.Since migratory species are dependent on specific habitats at different times of their life, international cooperation is essential for their conservation. The report registers an overall deterioration in conservation status and identifies overexploitation, habitat loss and fragmentation through intentional removal, climate change and pollution as main contributors. This 88-page document is divided into four sections: CMS at a glance (Section 1); STATE–Conservation Status (Section 2); PRESSURE–Threats to migratory species (Section 3); RESPONSE–Actions to conserve migratory species and their habitats (Section 4).
Authors
The Un Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Published in
- India
- Rights
- The UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Table of Contents
- Foreword 4
- Executive Summary 6
- Recommendations for priority actions 9
- Introduction 13
- I. CMS at a glance 15
- The CMS Appendices 15
- The importance of migratory species 18
- II. STATE – Conservation status 21
- Conservation status of CMS-listed species 22
- Beyond extinction risk: the IUCN Green Status of Species 25
- Trends in the conservation status and population abundance of migratory species 26
- Migratory species that may benefit from increased protection or conservation action under CMS 31
- III. PRESSURE – Threats to migratory species 37
- Overview of the threats to migratory species 37
- Overexploitation 43
- Habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation 44
- Climate change 46
- Pollution 47
- Threats to important sites for migratory species 50
- IV. RESPONSE – Actions to conserve migratory species and their habitats 55
- Implementation of legally binding obligations under CMS 55
- Reducing overexploitation, including mitigating incidental catch of non-target species 56
- Protecting and conserving key habitats for migratory species 58
- Promoting ecological connectivity by removing barriers to migration 60
- Ecosystem restoration 63
- Mitigating light pollution 65
- Conclusion 67
- References 69
- Annex A: Additional notes on the methods 75
- Annex B: Globally threatened or Near Threatened migratory species not yet listed in the CMS Appendices 77
