Around 24% of migratory species face extinction, according to an interim report released on Thursday, updating the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals’ State of the World’s Migratory Species (2024). The findings of the report are set to be presented at the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP15), a legally binding treaty of the United Nations, in Campo Grande, Brazil, from March 23-29.
The report said that 26 CMS-listed species, including 18 migratory shorebirds, have moved to higher extinction risk categories. Around 7 CMS species have improved, including the saiga antelope, scimitar-horned oryx, and Mediterranean monk seal. The report said that 9,372 Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) important for migratory species have been identified. But 47% of the area covered by KBAs is not covered by protected and conserved areas.
“The first global report was a wake-up call,” said CMS executive secretary Amy Fraenkel. “This interim update shows that the alarm is still sounding. Some species are responding to concerted conservation action, but too many continue to face mounting pressures across their migratory routes. We must respond to this evidence with coordinated and effective international action,” she said. Fraenkel added that overexploitation, habitat loss, and fragmentation are the greatest threats to migratory species worldwide.
The report underscored that the conservation status of migratory species is deteriorating overall. Since the previous analysis, which used version 2022-2 of the IUCN Red List, 386 of the 1200 CMS-listed species have been reassessed. Of these, 34 CMS-listed species have been re-categorised by the IUCN Red List, which includes seven positive changes and 26 negative changes. The Balkan Long-eared Bat is now in the vulnerable category as it has recorded long-term population decline.
The White-winged Duck, Swan Goose, Blue Swallow, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, and Siberian Sandplover have faced declines. The population of the African Penguin is declining extremely rapidly, with impacts of fisheries and climate change on prey among the likely main drivers, the report said.
The report has flagged the ongoing avian influenza, which may have widespread repercussions for migratory species. “Since 2021, H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has been detected in an unusually broad host range of birds and mammals and caused substantial mortality in many populations across multiple continents,” the report said.
It added that reported mass mortality events have affected a range of avian CMS-listed species, including Critically Endangered African Penguins, Vulnerable Humboldt Penguins, and Near Threatened Peruvian Pelicans in South America, Near Threatened Dalmatian Pelicans in Europe, and Vulnerable Hooded and Red-crowned Cranes in Asia.
The report said global extinction of the Appendix I-listed Slenderbilled Curlew is now considered confirmed. Pronounced long-term declines in the populations of many migratory shorebirds have occurred in the East Asian, Australasian flyway, in the East Atlantic flyway (particularly species breeding in the Arctic and boreal regions), and at coastal sites in India.