State of World’s Migratory Species Report

Context:  

The first-ever ‘State of the World’s Migratory Species report was launched by the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) at the opening of CMS COP14  in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Asia.

State of World’s Migratory Species Report 

• Data Set: The report uses robust species data sets from institutions such as BirdLife International, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Living Planet Index (managed by the Zoological Society of London, in collaboration with World Wildlife Fund for Nature).

Key Findings of The Report

• Anthropogenic Pressure: Millions of migratory animal species are in peril because of anthropogenic pressures. Example- Monarch butterflies face risk of extinction due to habitat loss and increasing carbon emissions due to anthropogenic activities.
• Aquatic Ecosystems: They are the worst-hit with 97 percent of migratory fish listed under CMS facing the risk of extinction. 
• Population Decline: 44 per cent (520 species) of CMS-listed species are undergoing population declines. 
• One in five CMS species faces the risk of extinction.

Reasons For Decline in Migratory Species

• Overexploitation: Bycatch is one of the overexploitation factors and is the most concerning threat to seabirds, particularly albatrosses and petrels which are estimated to be killed in the hundreds of thousands due to getting caught in longline and gillnet fisheries.
• Habitat loss, Degradation and Fragmentation: Three out of four CMS-listed species are impacted by habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation.
• Overfishing: Threat to slow-growing sharks, rays and chimaeras.
• Agriculture and Use of Pesticides: The Serengeti-Mara ecosystem in the United Republic of Tanzania and Kenya is experiencing significant pressure from expanding agriculture, settlements, roads and fences.
• Pollution: 
  • Noise Pollution: 
    • Foraging bats use echolocation during their hunt for prey. Anthropogenic noise pollution affects their hunting efficiency. 
    • Noise pollution underwater from shipping vessels results in less feeding among species such as harbour porpoises and killer whales.
  • Light, Plastic and Chemical Pollution: Oil spills and contamination such as lead, mercury, and agricultural pesticides  result in an increased number of birds dying of collisions, affecting their breeding and non-breeding places and foraging locations.
• Threat Category: Aquaculture, non-timber crop production, invasive species, mining etc have also been included under the threat category. 
• Infrastructure Development Barriers: Barriers like dams and river infrastructure prevent migratory fish from reaching their spawning grounds, alter water flow regimes and prevent juvenile fish from dispersing.
• Climate Change: Many migratory species cannot adapt to climate change.
  • Example: Increasing sea surface temperatures, with sea ice shrinking, is expected to reduce the habitat range of many species.

Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS)

• About CMS: It is an environmental treaty of the United Nations that provides a global platform for the conservation and sustainable use of migratory animals and their habitats. It came into force in 1979. It is also known as the Bonn Convention. 
• Objective: This treaty addresses the conservation needs of terrestrial, aquatic, and avian migratory species and their habitats worldwide. 
• Membership: Includes 133 Parties from Africa, Central and South America, Asia, Europe and Oceania. India has also been a party to CMS since 1983.
• CMS has Two Appendices: They cover diverse species of terrestrial and aquatic mammals, reptiles, fish, birds and insects.
  • Appendix I: Comprises migratory species assessed as being in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of their range.

• • Appendix II: Covers migratory species that have an unfavourable conservation status and that require international agreements for their conservation and management, as well as those that have a conservation status which would significantly benefit from the international cooperation that an international agreement could achieve. 

CMS COP 14

• Conference of the Parties (COP): It is the principal decision making body of the Convention.
• Meeting: It meets once every three years and sets the budget and priorities of the following three years (the triennium).
• COP 14: CMS COP14 is the first COP of any global environmental treaty to take place in Central Asia, a region home to many migratory species including the Saiga Antelope, the Snow Leopard, and many species of migratory birds. 
• Slogan: ‘Nature Knows No Borders’.

News Source: Down to Earth