1 in 5 migratory species threatened with extinction – UN
– From African elephants searching for water, to turtles crossing seas to nest and to albatrosses on their ocean-spanning search for food, the world’s migratory species are under threat across the planet, according to a landmark report yesterday.
The first State of the World’s Migratory Species assessment – which focuses on the 1 189 species covered by the UN Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) – found that one in five is threatened with extinction and 44% are seeing their populations decline.
Humans are to blame, by destroying or breaking up habitats, hunting and polluting areas with plastics, chemicals, light and noise. Climate change also threatens to interfere with migration routes and timings, by altering seasonal conditions.
“We are finding out the phenomenon of migration itself is under threat,” CMS chief Amy Fraenkel told AFP, adding that the report should be a “wake up call about what’s happening”.
The report is released as over 130 signatory countries – with the notable absence of the US, China, Canada and Russia – gather for a conference in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, from yesterday until Saturday.
Migratory species often rely on specialised sites to feed and mate and their journeys between them can cross international borders and even continents.
Iconic species that make some of the most extraordinary journeys across the planet include the monarch butterfly, the humpback whale and the loggerhead turtle.
“Today’s report sets out the evidence that unsustainable human activities are jeopardising the future of migratory species,” said UN Environment Programme (Unep) head Inger Andersen.
Among the chief threats are agriculture and fishing.
Farming can destroy habitat, Fraenkel said, while “bycatch” by fishing vessels – when other fish or animals become ensnared by fishing gear – is the biggest continued threat for whales.
Andersen said that while habitat destruction is considered the main risk to migratory animals, for some species the report found it was “intentional killing” – for wild meat or sport, or because the animals are thought of as pests. “There is a big gap that we’ve now identified that needs action,” she said.
The report, compiled by Unep’s World Conservation Monitoring Centre, found that over the past three decades, 70 CMS-listed species have become more endangered, including the steppe eagle, Egyptian vulture and the wild camel.
Just 14 now have an improved conservation status – including blue and humpback whales and the white-tailed sea eagle. Of the 158 mammals listed under the convention, 40% are globally threatened, the report said.
Meanwhile almost all – 97% of the 58 fish species listed are facing a high risk of extinction, including migratory sharks, rays and sturgeons.
More than 960 species of birds are CMS-listed and, while only 14% were assessed as threatened, the authors stressed this still amounts to some 134 species. –