African-Eurasian Migratory Landbirds Action Plan

African-Eurasian Migratory Landbirds Action Plan
Title	African-Eurasian Migratory Landbirds Action Plan
Jurisdiction	Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals
Coordinating body	Secretariat of the Convention on Migratory Species
Region	Africa and Eurasia

African-Eurasian Migratory Landbirds Action Plan The Action Plan is a multilateral policy framework developed under the aegis of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals to conserve migratory passerines and other landbird taxa across the African Union, European Union, and Council of Europe regions. It complements instruments such as the Bonn Convention, the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds, and regional strategies promoted by the United Nations Environment Programme and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. The plan seeks to harmonize conservation objectives among states including United Kingdom, France, Germany, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Russia, and Turkey.

Background and Objectives

The plan originated from deliberations at meetings of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species and technical working groups convened by the BirdLife International Secretariat and the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Primary objectives include reversing population declines of migratory landbird species listed in Annexes, reducing mortality along flyways used by species such as the Common Nightingale and Whinchat, improving habitat integrity in stopover sites like those in the Sahel, and promoting legislation analogous to the European Union Birds Directive. The Action Plan sets time-bound targets to align with global targets adopted at summits including the Convention on Biological Diversity meetings and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change processes.

Scope and Target Species

Scope covers long-distance and short-distance migratory landbirds that traverse biogeographic regions from the Iberian Peninsula and Scandinavia to the Horn of Africa and Maghreb. Target taxa include passerines, prunellidae-affiliated taxa, and other passeriformes comparable to species found in Sahara-margin corridors and Mediterranean ecosystems. Species prioritized are those identified by the IUCN Red List and national lists produced by authorities such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the African Bird Club. The plan references flyways recognized by the Western Palearctic-African flyway frameworks and integrates considerations for endemic ranges in regions like the Caucasus and Ethiopian Highlands.

Conservation Measures and Strategies

Measures encompass habitat protection modeled on instruments used in the Natura 2000 network, restoration projects akin to Loire River rehabilitation, and management of agricultural landscapes following best practices promoted by the Food and Agriculture Organization and the European Commission. Strategies include reducing illegal take through enforcement frameworks similar to those of the International Criminal Police Organization cooperation, mitigating collision risk with infrastructure sited under guidance from the International Energy Agency and the International Civil Aviation Organization, and promoting community-based conservation approaches practiced by organizations such as the World Wide Fund for Nature and Wetlands International. The plan prescribes species action plans, habitat management plans, and transboundary protected area agreements in the style of Transfrontier Conservation Areas.

Implementation and Governance

Implementation is coordinated by the Secretariat of the Convention on Migratory Species with inputs from Parties including Spain, Italy, Morocco, Egypt, Israel, and Jordan. Governance arrangements call for national focal points, intergovernmental steering committees modelled on the Standing Committee of the Convention on Migratory Species, and technical advisory groups drawing expertise from Cambridge University Museum of Zoology, the Zoological Society of London, and regional research centres such as the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences. Implementation links to national biodiversity strategies under the Convention on Biological Diversity and reporting cycles aligned with United Nations Environment Assembly sessions.

Monitoring, Research and Data Collection

Monitoring frameworks draw on standardized protocols used by the European Bird Census Council, satellite telemetry pioneered by research projects at Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, and citizen science platforms including eBird and the European Atlas of Breeding Birds. Research priorities include migratory connectivity studies administered with tagging programs akin to those conducted by the British Trust for Ornithology and analyses of demographic parameters following methodologies from the Journal of Avian Biology. Data sharing is promoted through networks such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and regional databases operated by the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement secretariats.

Threats and Challenges

Principal threats identified mirror those reported by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: habitat loss from land-use conversion in the Sahel and Anatolia, illegal killing documented in the Mediterranean flyway, pesticide exposure associated with agrochemical regimes referenced by the Food and Agriculture Organization, and climate-driven shifts cited in reports by the European Environment Agency. Additional challenges include limited enforcement capacity in some Parties, cross-jurisdictional governance obstacles similar to cases addressed in the Algeria–Tunisia transboundary context, and socio-economic pressures highlighted in assessments by the World Bank and African Development Bank.

Funding and International Cooperation

Funding mechanisms leverage multilateral funds like the Global Environment Facility, bilateral aid from states such as Germany and United Kingdom and philanthropic support resembling grants from the BirdLife Partnership and Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. International cooperation is formalized through Memoranda of Understanding modeled on the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds, partnership arrangements with regional bodies like the Economic Community of West African States and European Commission, and technical collaboration with academic networks including University of Cambridge and University of Cape Town. Success hinges on sustained finance, coordinated policy across Parties, and integration with global biodiversity commitments at the Convention on Biological Diversity conferences.

Category:Conservation