- May 6, 2023
Flyway: India gears up for a leadership role in Central Asian Flyway for conserving migratory birds and their habitats | India News – Times of India
NEW DELHI: Eleven countries have agreed on an institutional framework for the Central Asian Flyway (CAF) to strengthen conservation efforts for migratory birds and their habitats in a coordinated manner.
The 11 countries are India, Armenia, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Mongolia, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Thirty countries including these 11 fall within CAF. Once agreed by all countries of the Flyway, India may serve as secretariat of the CAF in due course.
A flyway is a geographical region within which a single or group of migratory species completes its annual cycle — breeding, moulting, staging and non-breeding. There are nine flyways in the world. Total 370 species of migratory birds visit the Indian sub-continent annually.
The decision on the institutional framework for CFY was taken in the meeting of range countries of the central Asian region here during May 2-4. The meeting was jointly organised by the environment ministry and the United Nations Environment Programme/ Convention on Migratory Species (UNEP/CMS).
“India has been taking proactive steps in the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats and has been advocating establishment of a Central Asian Flyway initiative that first began in 2005 in New Delhi,” said Suresh Kumar, senior scientist at Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun.
Kumar, who assists the ministry in matters relating to CMS, told TOI on Saturday that the recently held meeting is another step in “garnering support of the range countries” and strengthening the efforts.
The agreed institutional framework for the CAF carries details of priority areas for implementation with countries giving their consent on a draft roadmap for updating the CMS CAF action plan. It has a compilation of best practices to ensure the sustainable conservation of migratory birds and their habitats.
Out of 370 species of migratory birds that visit the sub-continent annually, 310 species use wetlands as their home while remaining species are landbirds, inhabiting dispersed terrestrial areas.
India has, meanwhile, been independently working on various conservation measures in sync with its five-year plan to make the country a paradise of migratory birds. The country had in 2018 come out with its new national action plan to conserve habitats, mostly wetlands, of species of migratory birds who every year cover long distances from Siberia in Russia to make the country their temporary home during winter.
The 11 countries are India, Armenia, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Mongolia, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Thirty countries including these 11 fall within CAF. Once agreed by all countries of the Flyway, India may serve as secretariat of the CAF in due course.
A flyway is a geographical region within which a single or group of migratory species completes its annual cycle — breeding, moulting, staging and non-breeding. There are nine flyways in the world. Total 370 species of migratory birds visit the Indian sub-continent annually.
The decision on the institutional framework for CFY was taken in the meeting of range countries of the central Asian region here during May 2-4. The meeting was jointly organised by the environment ministry and the United Nations Environment Programme/ Convention on Migratory Species (UNEP/CMS).
“India has been taking proactive steps in the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats and has been advocating establishment of a Central Asian Flyway initiative that first began in 2005 in New Delhi,” said Suresh Kumar, senior scientist at Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun.
Kumar, who assists the ministry in matters relating to CMS, told TOI on Saturday that the recently held meeting is another step in “garnering support of the range countries” and strengthening the efforts.
The agreed institutional framework for the CAF carries details of priority areas for implementation with countries giving their consent on a draft roadmap for updating the CMS CAF action plan. It has a compilation of best practices to ensure the sustainable conservation of migratory birds and their habitats.
Out of 370 species of migratory birds that visit the sub-continent annually, 310 species use wetlands as their home while remaining species are landbirds, inhabiting dispersed terrestrial areas.
India has, meanwhile, been independently working on various conservation measures in sync with its five-year plan to make the country a paradise of migratory birds. The country had in 2018 come out with its new national action plan to conserve habitats, mostly wetlands, of species of migratory birds who every year cover long distances from Siberia in Russia to make the country their temporary home during winter.
