- Recognised threats to biodiversity include habitat loss and overexploitation but new analyses suggest that migratory species are faring particularly badly.
- The global extinction risk is increasing for all migratory species.
- I’m writing this in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, for the 14th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species.
Status update
- Worse still, they suggest that the extinction risk is increasing for all migratory species, including those not included under the convention.
- Populations of fish included under the convention have declined on average by 90% since 1970.
- Many species under the convention that need or would significantly benefit from international cooperation, are identified as high priorities for further conservation action based on their conservation status and biological vulnerability.
- Understanding the scope and severity of these threats where they occur is therefore essential to informing conservation action, especially in the context of the triple planetary crises.
Effective action
- There are various reasons why such agreements are not always as effective as they could be.
- This has proven key to catalysing concerted conservation action for the saiga.
- In the last 15 years, new knowledge of the saiga antelope’s ecology, migration and trade has been generated and effective anti-poaching measures have been implemented.
- These include evaluating management approaches, sustainable use of the species, stockpile management, building the saiga conservation network and identifying key research needs along international supply chains.
Catalysing cross-border conservation
- This landmark meeting has been positive and I’ve noticed a renewed sense of commitment to improve the conservation of migratory species.
- Conservation measures should be context-specific, applied at relevant scales, and socially legitimate among local communities and Indigenous peoples if they are to be successful.
- Renewed commitment to conservation solutions identified in this report could build political will to act together.
Dan Challender receives funding from the UKRI Global Challenges Research Fund (UKRI GCRF) through the Trade, Development, and the Environment Hub and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, and has previously received funding from the National Geographic Society. He is CITES Focal Point for the IUCN SSC Pangolin Specialist Group and is a member of the IUCN CEESP/SSC Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group.
