Nearly half of migratory bird species declining, report warns

Conservationists have called for urgent action to expand protection for migratory birds and the flyways they depend on, warning that nearly half of migratory bird species are declining.

The call was made during the launch of the sixth edition of the State of the World's Birds report at the Global Flyways Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, on Friday.

The report found that one in nine migratory bird species is threatened with extinction, while seven species have been confirmed or are suspected to have been lost over the past 150 years.

Stuart Butchart, chief scientist at BirdLife International, a global bird conservation organization, said migratory seabirds, shorebirds, and species that use the East Asian-Australasian flyway are of particular concern.

He said assessment conducted over the past 10 years indicated that 58 percent of the most important sites for migratory birds are in poor condition.

The report found that the networks of habitats on which migratory birds depend are becoming increasingly degraded and fragmented, including through the loss of intertidal wetlands along the East Asian–Australasian Flyway.

"Tragically, last year, the Slender-billed Curlew or Numenius tenuirostris was officially declared extinct, marking the first known global extinction of a formerly widespread migratory bird whose range included mainland Europe, North Africa and West Asia," Butchart said.

He said such extinctions should serve as a warning of broader ecosystem collapse, noting that nature underpins economies, livelihoods and health.

Despite the grim outlook, the report highlights evidence that conservation efforts can reverse declines.

It identifies invasive species, agricultural intensification, climate change and unsustainable hunting as among the major human-driven factors behind the decline of migratory birds.

The report noted that when farming, fishing and land-use practices are addressed across an entire migration route rather than at individual sites, bird populations can recover.

For example, coordinated action across several countries to protect the Egyptian Vulture has halted the decline of the Balkan breeding population.

"Migratory birds are sentinels, and their declines reveal growing pressure on the natural systems that sustain us," Butchart said. "But the science is equally clear: conservation works, with coordinated action preventing extinctions and helping populations recover. The solutions exist: what is needed now is their implementation at flyway scale."

Paul Matiku, executive director of Nature Kenya, said although climate change is contributing to the decline of migratory birds, human activities are causing greater harm.

"We should look at the way we live, manage land, dispose wastes, use fertilizer and the way land gets degraded," he said.

"A polluted lake in a system where the surrounding area is dry, degraded and full of silt is not going to deliver the ingredients required by birds to be able to survive."

The report described birds as indicators of planetary health, noting that they respond rapidly to environmental changes and that their population trends often mirror those of other species, making them valuable indicators of overall ecosystem health.

Across interconnected networks of breeding, non-breeding and stopover sites, migratory birds regulate insect populations, pollinate plants and act as ecosystem engineers.

Their long-distance movements also facilitate seed dispersal and nutrient cycling, creating ecological connectivity between distant ecosystems.

Their journeys mark changing seasons and have inspired art, music, folklore and religion for millennia.

Martin Harper, chief executive officer of BirdLife International, called for sustained financing to support effective conservation.

He said although world leaders agreed in 2022 to mobilize new funding to help reverse declines in wildlife populations, the global biodiversity financing gap is growing and is now estimated at $900 billion annually.