Almost half of migratory bird species now in decline: State of the World’s Birds
A new global assessment finds that 45% of migratory bird species are now in decline, with about 1 in 9 migratory species facing extinction risk
The report was released at the Global Flyways Summit in Nairobi, co-hosted with a Kenyan conservation body, and is the first edition of its kind to focus specifically on migratory birds and flyway systems
The Slender-billed Curlew was confirmed extinct in 2025 — the first documented global extinction of a mainland Eurasian/African bird species in recent centuries; six further migratory species are confirmed or suspected lost over the last 150 years
Species dependent on marine habitats, forests and coastal wetlands — particularly seabirds and shorebirds — show the steepest declines
Governments, scientists, NGOs and financial institutions at the summit signed a declaration committing to coordinated, flyway-scale conservation action rather than isolated national measures
Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) / Bonn Convention
The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), also called the Bonn Convention, is an intergovernmental treaty under the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) that provides a global platform for the conservation of migratory animals and their habitats. It works through legally binding agreements (Appendix I species) and cooperative "Memoranda of Understanding" for less-threatened migratory species (Appendix II).
Key Details
- Adopted in Bonn, Germany, in 1979; entered into force in 1983
- India is a signatory (ratified 1983) and hosted the 13th Conference of Parties (COP13) in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, in February 2020
- At CMS COP14 (Samarkand, Uzbekistan, February 2024), the Initiative for the Central Asian Flyway was formally established, with its Coordinating Unit hosted by the Government of India
- CMS periodically updates its appendices to add newly threatened migratory species, including several Indian species (Great Indian Bustard, Bengal Florican)
The State of the World's Birds findings feed directly into CMS's flyway-conservation mandate — the report's call for coordinated, cross-border action mirrors the institutional logic behind CMS agreements and India's CAF Coordinating Unit role.
Central Asian Flyway (CAF) and India's National Action Plan
The Central Asian Flyway is one of the world's major migratory bird corridors, spanning around 30 countries from the Arctic to the Indian Ocean and covering routes used by waterbirds, landbirds and raptors, including many species that winter in or pass through India (e.g., Siberian Crane historically, Amur Falcon, Bar-headed Goose).
Key Details
- India released the National Action Plan for Conservation of Migratory Birds along the Central Asian Flyway (2018), administered by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
- Objectives include reducing pressure on critical habitats/migratory routes and reversing the decline of migratory bird populations along the CAF, with milestones tracked toward 2027
- Unlike the East Asian-Australasian and African-Eurasian flyways (each covered by dedicated instruments), the CAF lacked its own binding institutional mechanism until the 2024 CMS COP14 decision
- Key Indian CAF habitats include Ramsar wetlands such as Chilika Lake (Odisha), Keoladeo National Park (Rajasthan) and Pong Dam Lake (Himachal Pradesh)
The report's "45% in decline" finding is precisely the population trend the CAF National Action Plan and the new CMS Coordinating Unit (hosted in India) are meant to reverse by 2027 — testing India's on-ground implementation record against this global benchmark.
IUCN Red List and Extinction Risk Categories
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is the global standard for assessing extinction risk, classifying species into categories from Least Concern to Extinct based on population trends, range size and threats. A declaration of "Extinct" requires exhaustive surveys confirming no reasonable doubt that the last individual has died.
Key Details
- IUCN Red List categories (declining risk to increasing risk): Least Concern → Near Threatened → Vulnerable → Endangered → Critically Endangered → Extinct in the Wild → Extinct
- The Slender-billed Curlew (Numenius tenuirostris) was formally declared Extinct by IUCN in October 2025, based on the last confirmed sighting in Morocco in 1995 and failed subsequent survey efforts
- It is recognized as the first documented global extinction of a bird species native to mainland Europe, North Africa and West Asia in recent centuries
- India-relevant Red List migratory species of concern include the Great Indian Bustard (Critically Endangered) and various shorebirds using the CAF
The Slender-billed Curlew case anchors the report's extinction-crisis framing and illustrates how IUCN Red List reassessments — not just population counts — formally document when decline tips into irreversible loss.
Root Causes of Migratory Bird Decline (Mains Angle)
The report attributes migratory bird decline to a set of interacting anthropogenic pressures: habitat loss and fragmentation (especially coastal wetlands and forests), agricultural intensification, invasive species, climate change altering migration timing and stopover-site availability, and unsustainable/illegal hunting along flyways.
Key Details
- Coastal wetlands and stopover sites are especially vulnerable because migratory species depend on a connected chain of habitats across multiple countries — degrading any single link disrupts the entire route
- The Egyptian Vulture's population recovery is cited as evidence that coordinated, multi-country conservation (anti-poisoning measures, safe-flyway initiatives) can reverse declines
- India's own flyway conservation instruments (Wildlife Protection Act 1972 schedules, Ramsar wetland designations, CAF National Action Plan) exemplify the national-level component of this multilateral approach
This causal analysis frames a likely Mains GS3 answer structure — causes of migratory species decline, India's policy response, and the case for flyway-scale (not just national) conservation, as endorsed in the Nairobi declaration.
- 45% of migratory bird species are now in decline (State of the World's Birds, first migratory-birds-focused edition)
- About 1 in 9 migratory bird species faces extinction risk
- Slender-billed Curlew declared extinct by IUCN in October 2025 — first global mainland Eurasian/African bird extinction in recent centuries
- Six additional migratory species confirmed or suspected lost in the last 150 years
- Over $6 billion in conservation finance mobilized by development banks since 2021, per the report
- Central Asian Flyway spans about 30 range countries, connecting the Arctic and Indian Oceans
- CMS COP14 (Samarkand, 2024) established the Initiative for the Central Asian Flyway, Coordinating Unit hosted by India
- India's National Action Plan for CAF migratory birds (2018) targets reversing decline by 2027