Migratory species cross borders and as such they present a particular problem when it comes to conservation - getting people to agree to cooperative action across borders. Here, Jenny Weston, Senior Species Recovery Officer and Nicola Crockford, RSPB’s Principal Policy Officer share insights and updates from a recent international event that saw important decisions and agreements made on cross-border conservation efforts for birds of prey.
Birds do not recognise the boundaries us humans set across the landscape, dividing their habitat with our national borders. This is a challenge for conservation and requires a collaborative approach, especially so with migratory species. The migratory species that we’re going to focus on in this blog are migratory birds of prey. You might not think of birds of prey (also known as raptors) as migratory but many species make huge journeys each year. For instance Hobbies that visit the UK in summer and can be seen hunting dragonflies over wetland reserves right now, spend their winters in Africa.
Many raptor species make huge journeys each year. For instance Hobbies that visit the UK in summer and can be seen hunting dragonflies over wetland reserves right now, spend their winters in Africa. © Ben Andrew (rspb-images**LINK BOCKED**).
How do governments agree on what needs to be done to protect migratory species? International agreements are an important way of bringing countries together when it comes to working out how to help migratory species. The United Nation’s Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animal (CMS) is the global platform that does just that – it is an environmental treaty that brings together countries to prioritise and agree what to do to conserve migratory species that regularly cross national boundaries.
As part of this there is a specific agreement designed to support the conservation of migratory birds of prey in Africa, Europe and Asia - the CMS Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in Africa and Eurasia, also known as the Raptors MOU. The Raptors MOU facilitates internationally coordinated actions of governments and others to achieve and maintain the favourable conservation status of migratory birds of prey throughout their range on the continents of Africa, Asia and Europe , and to reverse their decline when and where possible.
In practice, this means that since 2008, the Raptors MOU has provided the legal framework to conserve species of birds of prey and their key sites. The agreement helps countries to agree the important actions needed to conserve migratory birds of prey as well as supporting research and developing a collaborative international approach to bird of prey conservation efforts.
Flocking together Last month in Dubai, the Raptors MOU brought together representatives of many of its 61 signatory states at the third Meeting of Signatories (MOS3), including the UK with staff from Defra, JNCC and NatureScot (the latter provides the chair of the Raptors MOU Technical Advisory Group).
Several NGOs also attended as observers, including several from the BirdLife family: Bird Conservation Nepal, the Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Kazakhstan and the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds. We, as RSPB, attended as part of the BirdLife delegation to promote key amendments to the Raptors MOU which will strengthen conservation commitments and to present some of the work we have led on in recent years.
The BirdLife Delegation at the Raptors MOU meeting in Dubai. © Ankit Bilash Joshi.
Migratory birds of prey in troubleAt the meeting, key areas of work were presented by the Raptors MOU and its governmental signatories and observers. These included the first assessment of the conservation status of the 94 species listed under the Raptors MOU agreement, prepared under contract by BirdLife International. This assessment revealed that over half of all species of migratory birds of prey in Africa, Asia and Europe are threatened with extinction . This was a stark reminder of the need for increased conservation efforts to prevent the loss of many of the world’s best known and loved species, with vultures and eagles most severely impacted.
The report also highlighted the impacts of key threats to migratory species such as illegal killing, electrocution and poisoning. We've known for a long time that these threats are having a significant impact on some species, but we also know how to address some of these problems. Firm commitments and investment are required to tackle the problems facing our migratory raptors (and other birds too) and reverse their declines.
Protecting thousands of key sites for species of migratory birds of preyThe most important agreement at last month’s meeting was countries formally recognising more than 7,500 internationally important sites for migratory raptors. These important sites may be key breeding, wintering or stopover sites for declining species of birds of prey. Previously only 150 sites were listed but now signatories will protect and manage thousands more sites. This prioritisation aids cooperation between governments and other stakeholders on where to share resources, expertise and capacity for their conservation to ensure safe areas exist for migratory birds of prey all along their migratory routes.
Recognising more than 75000 key sites for migrating raptors was a great achievement at the Raptors MOU meeting. It means that important sites for migratory birds of prey, such as this Egyptian Vulture, will be protected. © Will Hayward.
Raptor conservation success storiesThe meeting was also an opportunity to hear presentations from the different taskforces and working groups associated with the Raptors MOU. We learnt about some really inspiring projects, including work to track the unique migration of Amur Falcons in India, a species in whose conservation our BirdLife Partner in India, the Bombay Natural History Society has taken a leading role.
The talks gave us hope - with examples of organisations working together to make meaningful change to our raptor populations. These included the Wildlife Crime Academy which is training police teams in wildlife crime forensic techniques to equip them in prosecuting perpetrators of wildlife crime. As well as the Egyptian Vulture New LIFE project, in which the RSPB and our BirdLife Partner, the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds, have played a leading role, which recently completed an ambitious programme of work in 14 countries on three continents and has stabilised the long declining Egyptian Vulture population in the Balkans.
Jenny presented the results of the mid-term implementation review of the 10 year Egyptian Vulture Flyway Action Plan. This plan was adopted at the CMS 12 Conference of Parties (COP12) in Manilla in 2017, with many projects working to deliver its objectives and ultimately prevent the extinction of the Egyptian Vulture. The review shows that much progress is being made on the flyway but also that there is still much to do.
Experiencing an intergovernmental meeting for the first time While Nicola is an experienced attendee at these intergovernmental meetings as the BirdLife head of delegation, this was a first for me (Jenny). There was much formal process to be followed, but it was fascinating to be part of the negotiations to strengthen the agreement text. This is an important first step in signatory countries changing legislation, protecting key sites and developing national and international action plans.
The discussions and agreements are all aimed at improving the conservation status of birds of prey. Some of these species will be familiar to UK-based readers, for instance Golden Eagle and Hen Harrier, while others are an important part of ecosystems in Africa, Asia and elsewhere in Europe.
Jenny Weston delivering her talk to meeting on the Egyptian Vulture Flyway Action Plan mid-term review. © Umberto Gallo Orsi.
Multilateral Environmental Agreements such as the Raptors MOU are an essential tool in our conservation toolkit. Such agreements make signatories responsible for implementing the agreement in their countries and putting into place the conservation actions which will prevent further population declines of incredible migratory birds of prey and hopefully secure their long-term population recovery.
Attending this most recent meeting was a privileged insight into the workings of such agreements and a demonstration of the important role that international conservation organisations have to play in working with governments during and following these events to encourage them to take action for migratory species.
Continue reading• How countries are coming together to save coastal habitats, including for one of the world's rarest migratory birds• Crossing borders and continents for conservation – the story of the Egyptian Vulture• Conserving birds on a continental scale – the Pan-African Ornithological Congress
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