Flyways Summit
Saving the glorious bustards
Bustard conservation: Status, trends,
progress and achievements
Stuart Butchart, BirdLife’s Chief Scientist
Whilst scientists can fathom the
aerodynamics that enable the world’s
heaviest flying birds to thrust into the
air, the conservation of bustards needs
an additional lift. Bustards are among
the most threatened bird families in
the world: 15 of 26 species are globally
threatened, or nearly, with extinction.
We will look at the conservation issues
facing this group, review solutions to
tackle habitat loss and degradation,
unsustainable hunting, mortality
caused by collisions with powerlines
and other threats, and consider the
role that captive breeding may play in
the conservation of some species. We
will also discuss how we can scale up
action and strengthen international
cooperation for their conservation.
Key partner: International Fund for
Houbara Conservation
People power
Capacity development for
flyway conservation
Julius Arinaitwe, BirdLife’s Director for Partnership, Capacity & Communities
and influence will be aided through
stronger collaboration and sharing of
expertise. We will create a common
agenda for developing conservation
capacity along flyways that will select
priority projects and identify how they
will be implemented and funded.
Everywhere migratory birds fly,
someone will be watching. We need
to build a bigger and stronger network
of people and organisations taking
action for conservation in every
country along a flyway. Strengthening
the existing network, and identifying
and building expertise for countries
currently under-represented, is a key
response to tackling threats facing
migratory species. Our effectiveness
Key partners: Converge for Impact,
Wetlands International, MAVA
Foundation
For the sake of falcons
A global action plan for Saker
Falcon conservation
Nick Williams, Programme Officer - Birds of Prey (Raptors), CMS
Saker Falcon Falco cherrug
(Endangered) populations have
suffered rapid declines driven by
threats including electrocution on
powerline poles, unsustainable
trapping for falconry purposes and
habitat degredation. Parties to the CMS
adopted the Saker Falcon Global Action
Plan (SakerGAP) in 2014. It brought
together more than eighty countries,
organisations, scientists, falconers and
other stakeholders with the shared goal
to re-establish a healthy, self-sustaining
wild population throughout its range.
The session will present an update
of conservation actions, an outline
SakerGAP Summary Implementation
Plan with key priorities, and encourage
collaboration and support across
participating sectors.
Convened by: CMS Raptors MOU
At the Flyways Summit we will also launch our new report State of the World’s Birds: Taking the Pulse of the Planet, which shows
that despite our best efforts, the status of the world’s birds continues to deteriorate. But as the saying goes, ‘When the going gets
tough, the tough get going’, and we hope that the Flyways Summit, like a migratory bird embarking on its tough journey, is a call-
to-action for the world.
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apr-jun 2018 • birdlife