New Delhi: Habitats of migratory birds can be effectively managed with coordinated information sharing, India said on Wednesday at a meeting with 29 other range countries of the Central Asian Flyway (CAF). A two-day meeting of 30 range countries of the CAF to strengthen conservation actions for migratory birds commenced on Wednesday, with Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav emphasising that migratory birds play an essential and indispensable role in the ecosystems they reside in and travel through.
Representing India in a virtual meet, Yadav stressed that habitats used by migratory birds for re-fuelling "can be effectively managed with coordinated information sharing". Approximately one in five of the world's 11,000 bird species migrate, some covering enormous distances, the minister said, adding that conserving migratory birds requires cooperation and coordination along the entire flyway between countries and across national boundaries.
"India has launched a national action plan for the conservation of migratory birds along the Central Asian Flyway. India as COP13 President wishes to take conservation of migratory birds to a new paradigm with active cooperation of all the CAF range countries," Yadav tweeted.
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Delivering the keynote address, he said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at the opening ceremony of the 13th meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP 13) to the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), held at Gandhinagar in February, 2020, had noted that India was keen to take the conservation of migratory birds to a new paradigm with active cooperation of all the CAF range countries and it would be happy to facilitate preparation of an action plan for other countries, for conservation of migratory birds along the Central Asian Flyway.
Apart from India, the other range countries of CAF are Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, UAE, UK, Uzbekistan and Yemen.
The Central Asian Flyway (CAF) covers a large area of Eurasia between the Arctic and Indian oceans. This flyway comprises several important migration routes of birds. During the meeting, India would be sharing its best practices on conservation of migratory birds and the National Action Plan with the CAF range countries.
The meeting would also share information on activities and conservation priorities, and actions taking place within the CAF. The meeting would be attended by representatives from the CAF range countries, from CMS, its sister organisations, experts in the field from across the globe, scientists, officials and representatives from state/UT governments, etc.
PTI
