New Delhi: With more than half of the world’s migratory avian species declining, the dwindling number of birds crossing continents and oceans reflects a deepening biodiversity crisis, warns a study. The report stands relevant to Delhi-NCR, a major birding zone that attracts over 100 species of migratory birds from central Asia and beyond.Published in Nature Reviews Biodiversity, the study estimates that nearly 51% of migratory bird species are experiencing population declines across the world’s major flyways. Researchers say that almost 300 migratory species are already globally threatened, while many birds once considered common are also significantly declining.
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The review, led by researchers from Georgetown University in collaboration with ornithologists from several international organisations, including State of India’s Birds (SoIB), presents an assessment of the status, threats and conservation needs of migratory birds. It also proposes a global framework centred on strengthening monitoring, protecting critical habitats, integrating ecological and social sciences, and improving international cooperation to halt and reverse declines.For India, the findings are particularly significant. The study notes that long-distance migratory birds visiting the country from Arctic breeding grounds are declining faster than resident species or shorter-distance migrants, raising concerns over the future of species that rely on India’s wetlands, grasslands and coastal habitats during winter.Scientists attribute the declines to a combination of threats, including habitat loss, climate change, pesticide use, invasive species, disease, and collisions with buildings and other infrastructure. Because migratory birds depend on breeding grounds, stopover sites and wintering habitats spread across multiple countries, conservation efforts confined to individual regions are often inadequate, the authors argue.“Migratory birds move across continents, oceans and political boundaries, making them among the most challenging groups of animals to conserve,” the review says, calling for conservation strategies that protect interconnected habitats throughout migration routes rather than focusing on isolated locations.The researchers also highlight growing advances in conservation science. Tracking technologies, AI-enabled acoustic monitoring, community science platforms such as eBird, and improved population modelling are helping scientists better understand migration routes, identify population declines and pinpoint the drivers behind them.Despite the bleak trends, the authors emphasise that recovery is possible. They point to successful conservation programmes that have brought several species of waterfowl, cranes, shorebirds and raptors back from the brink of extinction, arguing that similar efforts can succeed if expanded across international flyways.“The challenge is not that we lack scientific knowledge,” the researchers argue. “It is scaling conservation efforts through stronger partnerships, adequate resources and sustained political commitment across countries.”Migratory birds play a critical ecological role by controlling insect populations, dispersing seeds, pollinating plants and supporting food webs. They also underpin one of the world’s largest citizen-science movements, with millions of birdwatchers contributing observations that increasingly inform conservation policy.
