According to a new United Nations report, nearly half of the world’s migratory species are in decline. The list includes whales because they are one of many species that migrate to different environments with changing seasons and are imperilled by habitat loss, illegal hunting and fishing, pollution and climate change. Habitat loss or other threats at any point in their journey can lead to dwindling populations. The report provides a global overview of migratory animals’ conservation status and population trends, combined with the latest information on their main threats and actions to help save them. The report also calls for more efforts to reduce bycatch – where marine wildlife is caught accidentally, for example, dolphins, whales and turtles entangled in fishing nets.
The first-ever State of the World’s Migratory Species report was released earlier this week at the 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP14). The conference convened under the slogan, “Nature knows no borders” is currently being held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, and ends on 17 February.
The report issues a clear wake-up call but only if we start now at every level from local to global. It’s not too late to make a difference.
