UN Report: 20% of World's Migratory Species Face Extinction Risk

• 14 Feb 2024

The United Nations' inaugural report on migrating animals, published on 12^th February, 2024, underscores the critical risks faced by these species due to climate change and human activities.

Key Points

• Extinction Risk: More than 20% of the world's migrating species are threatened with extinction due to the combined impacts of climate change and human encroachment.
• The report emphasizes that unsustainable pressures on these species could lead to dwindling populations, disrupt food supplies, and endanger livelihoods.
• Population Decline: Among the 1,189 species covered by the 1979 U.N. convention to protect migratory animals, 44% have experienced declines in their numbers.
• Alarmingly, up to 22% of these species could face complete extinction if current trends persist.
• Human Impact: Human activities such as hunting, fishing, and habitat destruction pose the most significant threats to migratory species. These activities impact 70% of the species listed under the U.N. convention.
• Habitat Loss: Habitat loss affects up to 75% of migratory species, emphasizing the urgent need for enhanced connectivity between isolated ecosystems.
• The report urges governments to avoid disrupting habitats and migration routes when implementing infrastructure projects.
• Climate Change: Temperature changes disrupt migration patterns, cause heat stress, and contribute to increasingly destructive weather events such as droughts and forest fires. These factors exacerbate the challenges faced by migratory species.
• Government Action: The report calls for decisive action by governments to address the threats to migratory species.
• This includes implementing measures to protect habitats and migration routes, as well as honoring commitments to biodiversity conservation.
• Convention Meeting: The report coincides with a meeting of the U.N. Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
• This meeting aims to review new species for conservation status and launch initiatives to protect habitats more effectively.
• Global Biodiversity Agreement: Conservationists urge governments to fulfill their pledge under the 2022 global biodiversity agreement to set aside 30% of the world's land and sea territories for nature conservation by 2030.