A REVIEW OF MIGRATORY BIRD FLYWAYS AND PRIORITIES FOR MANAGEMENT N CMS Technical Series Publication No. 27 W E MF | A Review of Migratory Bird Flyways and Priorities for Management - CMS Technical Series No. 27 A Review of Migratory Bird Flyways and Priorities for Management - CMS Technical Series No. 27 | 1 Published by the Secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals Recommended citation: A Review of Migratory Bird Flyways and Priorities for Management. 2014. UNEP / CMS Secretariat, Bonn, Germany. 164 pages. CMS Technical Series No. 27 Prepared by: UNEP/CMS Secretariat Authors: Colin A. Galbraith, Tim Jones, Jeff Kirby and Taej Mundkur Coordination: Borja Heredia Cover Photograph : Shabla Lake complex, Bulgaria, by Nicky Petkov Design: Karina Waedt, www.karinadesign.de Acknowledgements Ana Berta García, Felix Kwabena Donkor and Hirzi Luqman assisted with the prepar- ation of the manuscript. Funding to undertake the flyways reviews has been provided by the German Government, the Swiss Government, BirdLife International, Wetlands International and the CMS Secretariat. © 2014 UNEP/CMS. This publication, except the cover photograph, may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational and other non-profit purposes without special permission from the copyright holder, provided acknowledgement of the source is made. The UNEP/CMS Secretariat would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication that uses this publication as a source. No use of this publication may be made for resale or for any other commercial purposes whatsoever without prior permission from the United Nations Environmental Programme. DISCLAIMER The contents of this volume do not necessarily reflect the views of UNEP/CMS or contributory organisations. The designations employed and the presentation do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNEP/CMS or contributory organisations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area in its authority, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Copies of this publication are available from the UNEP/CMS Secretariat website: http://www.cms.int UNEP / CMS Secretariat UN Campus Platz der Vereinten Nationen 1 D-53111 Bonn, Germany Tel (+49 228) 815 24 01/02 Fax (+49 228) 815 24 49 E-mail: [email protected] www.cms.int ISBN 987-3-937429-88-5 2 | A Review of Migratory Bird Flyways and Priorities for Management - CMS Technical Series No. 27 A Review of Migratory Bird Flyways and Priorities for Management - CMS Technical Series No. 27 | 3 Table of Contents Forewords 4 General Introduction 6 List of Acronyms and Abbreviations 7 List of Tables and Figures 8 PART 1: A Review of CMS and Non-CMS Existing Administrative and Management Instruments for Migratory Birds Globally 9 Acknowledgements 10 1.1 Executive Summary 11 1.2 Overview of global flyways 12 1.3 Overview of recent literature on CMS-related flyway-based instruments for the conservation of migratory birds 16 1.4 Overview of existing CMS and non-CMS instruments and frameworks 19 1.5 Assessment of strengths and weaknesses of flyway instruments 28 1.6 Findings & conclusions regarding coverage of global flyways by existing instruments 43 References 46 PART 2: Review of Current Knowledge of Bird Flyways, Principal Knowledge Gaps and Conservation Priorities 47 Acknowledgements 48 2.1 Executive Summary 49 2.2 Introduction 56 2.3 Status and trends 62 2.4 Key threats 66 2.6 Conservation priorities 84 References 90 Annexes 99 PART 3: Policy Options for Migratory Bird Flyways 131 Acknowledgements 132 3.1 Executive Summary 133 3.2 Introduction 137 3.3 The major flyways of the world (from Part 2) How we view flyways today 138 3.4 The coverage of existing CMS and non-CMS instruments and frameworks (Key issues from Part 1) 140 3.5 The key pressures impacting on migratory birds 142 3.6 Priorities for the development of CMS instruments 148 3.7 Options for CMS instruments for migratory birds 152 References 157 Annexes 158 4 | A Review of Migratory Bird Flyways and Priorities for Management - CMS Technical Series No. 27 A Review of Migratory Bird Flyways and Priorities for Management - CMS Technical Series No. 27 | 5 Foreword by Bradnee Chambers The passing of migratory birds is one of the great wonders Prey in Africa and Eurasia (Raptors MOU). These and other bird of nature that has fascinated mankind over centuries. The instruments provide the necessary framework for countries sight and sound of cranes and geese while flying on their to get together and coordinate their conservation efforts to V formation are often perceived as a herald of spring and a ensure that species that are adequately protected at one end symbol of good luck by people all over the world. Birds trav- of the flyway are not being illegally killed at the other, and el thousands of kilometres as they travel to their wintering that critical habitats are protected along the entire route. grounds and on their way back to their breeding areas. These The success of the flyways approach led the CMS Parties journeys are repeated every year requiring precise orientation gathered in Rome in 2008 to establish a working group on and high energy consumption, as an ecological adaptation to global bird flyways to act as an international think tank on different environmental conditions and as a way to exploit flyways and frameworks. The working group was assigned the food resources available at different times of the year. The task of reviewing scientific and technical issues concerning migration routes followed by birds are called flyways and these the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats. One of routes encompass the breeding, wintering and staging areas the first mandates of the working group was to produce three required to complete the whole annual cycle. Flyways often global reviews as background for policy development: the first include several countries that the birds have to cross during one analysing the existing CMS and non-CMS administrative their migrations and this transboundary perspective entails arrangements for flyway conservation currently in place; the conservation efforts having to go beyond national frontiers second regarding scientific and technical issues and identi- and be undertaken at international level through close coop- fying priority issues related to flyways and management of eration among the States involved. migratory species and their habitats; and the third regarding CMS is a convention concerned with those species of wild policy options for flyways conservation and management. animals that migrate across national jurisdictional boundaries What readers now have in their hands is the compilation and accordingly it is the leading UN body on flyways. A num- of these three reviews in a single volume. I sincerely hope ber of CMS instruments have been developed as a response that this publication will be useful to those involved in the to the conservation needs of some regional flyways, as it is conservation of migratory birds in Government, civil society, the case for example with the Agreement on the Conservation research institutes or the private sector, and that it will con- of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA), the tribute to a better understanding of the complex phenome- Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of non of bird migration and the development on international Southern South American Migratory Grassland Bird Species and policy. I would also like to thank the authors for their excellent their Habitats (Grasslands Birds MOU) and the Memorandum reports and the members of the working group for their com- of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Birds of mitment to flyways conservation and their support to CMS. Bradnee Chambers Executive Secretary of CMS 4 | A Review of Migratory Bird Flyways and Priorities for Management - CMS Technical Series No. 27 A Review of Migratory Bird Flyways and Priorities for Management - CMS Technical Series No. 27 | 5 Foreword by Taej Mundkur The conservation of birds and their habitats should really be The Group has proposed priority actions, and options and considered the business and concern of everybody. For one, frameworks for further development that will need to be imple- birds are an important part of our world by performing a mented by governments and other stakeholders responsible for variety of important ecosystem services and functions. Their and concerned with the management of our environment and beauty, diversity and ability to bring us great joy and pleasure biodiversity, and migratory species. This work has also provid- is widely reflected in our poetry, art, literature and crafts. ed the basis for the framing of a detailed resolution on global The CMS Flyways Working Group has brought together flyway policy for the CMS that was unanimously supported by information on the major international frameworks available all the CMS Parties at its last Conference of Parties. This has in for the management of migratory birds and their habitats turn led to the development of a global Programme of Work around the world, and identified the major conservation issues on Migratory Birds and Flyways as a means of prioritizing and and gaps in knowledge to promote their management. From focussing global actions along the many flyways of the world up this assessment, it is evident that a lot of great work is being to 2020 and thereby strongly contributes to implementation of done by people across the