Context:
A recent UN report highlights alarming trends in the decline of migratory species protected under the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), with significant conservation implications globally and in India.
Key Highlights:
- Global Status of Migratory Species
- 49% species declining in population
- 24% face extinction risk (increase from previous assessment)
- Out of 1,189 CMS-listed species, 582 declining
- Threat Factors
- Habitat loss and fragmentation
- Climate change impacts
- Pollution and overexploitation
- Emerging threats like bird flu
- Species at Risk
- Sharks and rays (Northern Indian Ocean) at high risk
- Migratory shorebirds increasingly endangered
- 26 species shifted to higher extinction categories
- India-Specific Observations
- Decline in coastal migratory shorebirds
- Importance of wetlands and coastal ecosystems
- Positive Trends
- Recovery seen in:
- Vultures (South Asia)
- Saiga Antelope
- Scimitar-Horned Oryx
- Mediterranean Monk Seal
- Data Sources & Monitoring
- Based on IUCN Red List assessments
- Tracks long-term population trends (2002–2021)
Relevant Prelims Points:
- Convention on Migratory Species (CMS)
- Also known as Bonn Convention (1979)
- Aims to conserve migratory species and habitats
- India is a signatory
- Migratory Species
- Species that move seasonally across regions/countries
- IUCN Red List
- Categories: Least Concern → Near Threatened → Vulnerable → Endangered → Critically Endangered → Extinct
- Key Examples
- Sharks & Rays – indicators of marine ecosystem health
- Vultures – scavengers critical for ecosystem sanitation
Relevant Mains Points:
- Environmental Concerns
- Decline reflects global ecological imbalance
- Threatens food chains and ecosystem services
- India’s Role & Challenges
- Critical stopover for Central Asian Flyway
- Challenges:
- Wetland degradation
- Coastal development
- Pollution
- Global Governance Issues
- Weak enforcement of international environmental treaties
- Need for transboundary conservation cooperation
- Biodiversity & Sustainable Development
- Migratory species are vital for:
- Pollination
- Seed dispersal
- Marine balance
- Way Forward:
- Strengthen habitat conservation (wetlands, coasts)
- Enhance international cooperation under CMS
- Integrate biodiversity into climate policies
- Improve disease surveillance (e.g., avian flu)
- Promote community-based conservation models
UPSC Relevance:
• GS 3 – Environment, Biodiversity Conservation
• Prelims – CMS, IUCN, Species Conservation Trends