Central Asian Flyway

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Lesser flamingos In flight at Chilika Lake

The Central Asian Flyway (CAF), Central Asian-Indian Flyway, or Central Asian-South Asian Flyway is a

waterbirds, most of which extend from the northernmost breeding grounds in Siberia to the southernmost non-breeding wintering grounds in West Asia, India, the Maldives and the British Indian Ocean Territory.[1]

Range

A flyway is an operational concept linked to waterfowl whose population one wishes to manage over their entire migration space.[2]

East Asian-Australasian, and West Pacific
migratory bird flyways

The CAF range is centered on one of the three major wintering areas of waterfowl in the

East Asian – Australasian Flyway (EAAF) to the east. These wintering areas are geographically separate, and present entirely different ecological, historical and cultural situations.[2]

The flyway covers 30 countries of

Chagos Islands and Uzbekistan
) are located in the AEWA area.

The remaining countries in the Central Asian Flyway are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iraq, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Qatar and Yemen.[3][4]

Species

The Central Asian Flyway covers at least 279 migratory waterbird populations of 182 species, including 29 globally

near-threatened species
that breed, migrate and spend the non-breeding winter period within the region. Some species are completely or largely restricted to the Central Asian Flyway range, such as:

Baer's pochard
Sociable lapwing

In addition, the breeding range of some species are largely restricted to the region although the non-breeding ranges overlap with adjoining flyways. Examples include:

Conservation

Ramsar logo

Regional cooperation among the Central Asian Flyway states is undertaken to promote the

Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS), Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds
(AEWA),
World Conservation Union (IUCN), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Wetlands International who all cooperate on regional and national wildlife conservation
.

Regional plans complement actions that are being undertaken by national governments to promote conservation. Several countries have well established

protected areas
to conserve important habitats for migratory waterbirds.

Bangladesh
Satellite image of the Sundarbans

According to the Ramsar definition, more than two-thirds of the country's landmass may be classified as wetlands. It is a country dominated by wetland including estuaries, mangrove swamps namely the Sundarbans, freshwater marshes such as haor, swamps and rivers. There are about 628 bird species in Bangladesh, of which 244 are migratory. About 100 species of migratory birds regularly or occasionally visit the country. Considering the present threats to waterbird conservation in the country, 31 migratory waterbird species are of high priority for future action for conservation. 14 of these species are threatened.

Less concern blue-eared kingfisher in the Sundarbans.

The wetlands are home to about 70 species of resident waterbirds including ducks, grebe, cormorants, bitterns, herons, egrets, storks, rails, jacanas, finfoot, waders, gulls, turns, and skimmers. Eleven species of resident waterbirds are identified as threatened. The important threatened species are masked finfoot, Indian skimmer, black-headed ibis, greater adjutant, lesser adjutant, Baikal teal, Baer's pochard, ferruginous pochard, wood snipe, Nordmann's greenshank, and spoon-billed sandpiper.

The wetlands of Bangladesh are being degraded rapidly due to population pressure, withdrawal of water for irrigation, destruction of swamp forest, and many other anthropogenic and natural causes. Large scale habitat conversion, unsustainable harvesting policies and lack of ecological considerations have led to the destruction of valuable wetland habitat for water birds and other associated biodiversity. Immediate action is required for restoring these habitats and conserving the water birds in Bangladesh.

Chalan Beel in Natore District

The key breeding and staging areas of Bangladesh include Haor areas such as

Hakaluki haors, Chalan Beel
, the Sundarbans and other coastal mangroves including Hatia and Nijhum Dweep, and haor areas of the north west and off shore islands.

The

Sundarbans World Heritage Site
. The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) through its Department of Environment and Forest Department 'Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Circle' is the main institutional structure for wildlife conservation including waterbirds and their habitats. The Ministry of Land is the legal authority for land management including wetlands.

Bangladesh is signatory to CBD, CMS, CITES and Ramsar Convention. No national level initiative has been taken for waterbirds. But self-funded waterbird census is undertaken each year in selected habitats.[5]

India

India is the core country of the CAF and supports 257 species of water birds. Of these, 81 species are migratory birds of CAF conservation concern, including three critically endangered species, six endangered species, and 13 near threatened species. The

Ministry of Environment and Forests is the nodal agency for developing strategy and action plans and managing national, regional, and international programmes on water birds and wetlands conservation. Implementation of action plans is through the states environment and forests agencies with complementing activities provided by many academic institutions, NGO-conservation organizations, professional institutions and international agencies. National government institutions involved in migratory waterbirds and wetlands research/management include the Zoological Survey of India, the Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History, the Wildlife Institute of India, Indian Institute of Forest Management, the Centre for Environment Education, the Indian Institute of Economic Growth, the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.India has identified more than 300 potential Ramsar sites, of which 25 have been implemented.[6][7]
India is notable among CAF countries, with an extensive series of
national parks
in wetlands that provide convenient stopover and wintering areas for migratory birds using the Central Asian Flyway.

Spot-billed pelican at Pulicat Lake

Listed from north to south along the Eastern Flyway on or near the east coast, these include the

Kunthangulam Bird Sanctuary[8]

Sanctuaries for migratory waterbirds listed from north to south along the Western Flyway on or near the west coast of India include

Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park, Periyar National Park, Thrissur-Ponnani Kole Wetlands, Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary and Suchindram Theroor Birds Sanctuary, the southernmost protected area in the continental range of the Central Asian Flyway[8]

Pakistan

Pakistan has had very few studies to monitor the migratory bird populations and their use of wetlands. Current flyway management systems rely on information from local hunters, erratic wildlife surveys and raw estimates.

Black storks

Key wetland sites include

marbled teal
.

The

over-exploitation, habitat destruction and polluted environments. The main causes for wetland degradation are ineffective management, poor stakeholder participation and lack of coordination for management strategies.[9]

Russia

About half the territory of the Russian Federation is in the range of the Central-Asian Flyway. Among the 176 CAF species, 143 (85%) are located (and mostly breed) in Russian territory. Most of the species are presented by Anatidae and wader groups. 37 species that inhabit the CAF area are included in the Russian Red Data Book and more than 40 species are hunting objects.[10]

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is the southernmost landmass of the Central Asian Flyway and is the final destination of many migratory birds exiting the eastern and western Indian flyways and the Andaman Islands. The Department of Wildlife Conservation in Sri Lanka has declared four Ramsar sites and declared other protected areas in Sri Lanka which are wetlands habitats of migratory waterbirds. These include the Anawilundawa Sanctuary, Bellanwilla - Attidiya Sanctuary, Bundala National Park, Gal Oya National Park, Giants' Tank Sanctuary, Kumana National Park, Muthurajawela wetlands and Yala National Park.[11]

Additional sources

  • CMS Secretariat Launches Action Plan For Central Flyway[12]
  • Wetlands Biodiversity and Waterbirds: the Central Asian Flyway initiative, including Map of the Central Asian Flyway[13]
  • Flyway conservation in the Central Asian Flyway[14]

References

  1. ^
    CMS Secretariat. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 July 2010. Retrieved 9 January 2009.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link
    )
  2. ^ a b c CMS Secretariat, 32nd Meeting of the Standing Committee (8–9 November 2007). Strategic Review of Flyway Paper (PDF). Bonn: UNEP/CMS Secretariat.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. CMS Secretariat. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 October 2006. Retrieved 9 January 2009.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link
    )
  4. ^ Wetlands International Headquarters (2007). "Central Asian Flyway interim coordination". Wetlands for water and life. Wetlands International. pp. Horapark 9, Ede. The Netherlands. Retrieved 2009-01-05.[permanent dead link‍]
  5. ^ Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, Ministry of Environment and Forests (May 2005). Country Report for Central Asian Flyway Overview:: Bangladesh (PDF). UNEP/CMS. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-11. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  6. ^ Government of India, Ministry of Environment and Forests (2005). Country Report — India (PDF). Central Asian Flyway Action Plan for Waterbirds and their Habitat (CMS/CAF/Inf.4.13 ed.). Delhi: UNEP/CMS. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-11. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
  7. ISBN 978-0-19-569723-0
    .
  8. ^ a b BirdLife International, Data zone (2009). "site search results/India/map". Map sites. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
  9. ^ Sheikh, Kashif M.; Naseem Kashif (2006). Strategic role of Pakistan wetland resources: prospects for an effective migratory waterbird conservation network (PDF). Waterbirds around the world. Edinburgh, UK.: The Stationery Office. pp. 292–293.
  10. ^ Country report – Russia, Survey of Today Situation in Russian Federation within Central Asian Flyway Region (PDF). Meeting to Conclude and Endorse the Proposed Central Asian Flyway Action Plan for Waterbirds and their Habitat. New Delhi. 10–13 June 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2006. Retrieved 9 January 2009.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  11. ^ Herath, H.M.B.C.; Department of Conservation; Sri Lanka (10–13 June 2005). Country report – Sri Lanka (PDF). Meeting to Conclude and Endorse the Proposed Central Asian Flyway Action Plan for Waterbirds and their Habitat. New Delhi. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2006. Retrieved 9 January 2009.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  12. ^ Manta, Francisco Rilla; Rebecca Lee (11 January 2008). "CMS Secretariat Launches Action Plan For Central Flyway". Central Asian Flyway News. UNEP/CMS Secretariat, Hermann-Ehlers-Str. 10, 53113 Bonn, Germany. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
  13. ^ Wetlands International South Asia (2007). "Wetlands Biodiversity and Waterbirds: the Central Asian Flyway initiative, including Map of the Central Asian Flyway". Wetlands International Wageningen, The Netherlands. Archived from the original on 2010-07-07. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
  14. ISBN 978-0-11-497333-9. Archived from the original
    on 2011-02-04. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
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