Central Asian Flyway

In News

• A virtual two-day CAF range countries’ meeting was held recently.

About

• What is a Flyway?

It is a geographical region within which a single or a group of migratory species completes its annual cycle – breeding, moulting, staging and non-breeding.

Image Courtesy: TOI

• Background:
  • At the 13th meeting of the Conference of Parties (CoP) to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), held at Gandhinagar in February 2020, a resolution was adopted under the leadership of India with the aim to agree on conservation action for migratory birds.
  • With a view to fulfil its commitment, India organized a two-day online meeting recently, with CAF Range Countries, anchored in the Wildlife Institute of India.
• Central Asian Flyway
  • Area Covered
    • CAF covers a large area of Eurasia between the Arctic and Indian Oceans.
  • Including India, there are 30 countries under the Central Asian Flyway.
  • Extent 
    • It involves migration routes of waterbirds, extending from the northernmost breeding grounds in Siberia to the southernmost non-breeding wintering grounds in West Asia, India, the Maldives and British Indian Ocean Territory.
  • These wintering areas are geographically separate and present entirely different ecological, historical and cultural situations.

Image Courtesy: DeccanHerald

Major Migratory Birds

Why do countries need to protect Flyways? 

• Approximately one in five of the world’s 11,000 bird species migrate, some covering enormous distances.
• Safeguarding flyways means protecting the birds from poachers, rejuvenating wetlands among others. Saving the wetlands, terrestrial habitats help in fulfilling the bigger purpose of saving an ecosystem. 

Way Forward

• Conserving migratory birds requires cooperation and coordination along the entire Central Asian Flyway (CAF) between countries and across national boundaries.

Source: PIB