Migratory birds in the Arctic: the importance of working with non-Arctic regions
Arctic summers, when the sun never or nearly never sets, provide a short but intense breeding season for over 270 migratory bird species7
, which seek the wetlands, tundra I
and coasts for their seasonal high supply of food. No other place on Earth receives so many migratory birds from all over the planet, resulting in Arctic coastal regions holding a very special global conservation value. The Arctic in the summer is the breeding home for millions of birds, which at other seasons disperse over all continents to every corner of the world. Migratory birds travel to the Arctic from as far away as South Africa, New Zealand, South America, and in the case of the Arctic Tern, all the way from Antarctica22 migratory “flyways” are recognised23
. Several major within which several
species complete their annual migratory cycle. Many of these movements/flyways have been discovered with modern techniques such as geo-locators and small data loggers, which are used to reconstruct the migration routes and flight patterns of these species24
. II
Migratory wetland and shorebirds depend on a limited number of stopover and wintering sites along their flyway, which are sparsely distributed across the landscape and span over countries and continents. Localised threats and disturbances even at one site – including collisions with man- made structures such as powerlines, illegal hunting, pollution, and habitat change – can seriously affect a species’ population numbers23
are in decline. According to BirdLife International, 11% of the world’s migratory birds are Globally or Near Threatened25
. Many migratory species that travel to the Arctic . Of
the six sub-species of the red knot, a long distance migratory shorebird which breeds in the Arctic, three are in decline and two appear to be declining, whilst the trend for the 6th sub- species is not clear7
.
Reversing population declines and conserving migratory species of the Arctic requires international cooperation amongst those states located within a migratory flyway, including cooperation between Arctic and non-Arctic states. Importantly, protecting migratory birds against e.g., habitat loss or unsustainable hunting, will only be effective if these measures are similarly applied at other sites along a flyway, including staging and wintering areas. CMS, together
30 PROTECTING ARCTIC BIODIVERSITY
with its daughter agreements, provides the international legal framework to facilitate this coordination. Many of its instruments such as the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) focus exclusively on flyways. Others, such as the Raptors MoU, target groups of species with a similar ecological role. This structure allows all stakeholders to work together in partnership to conserve these fascinating species for future generations24
. Migrating paths of birds and marine mammals
Major bird migration flyways/corridors
Approximate paths of cetacean migration
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100