The Central Asian Flyway of migratory birds covers about 30 countries, and 11 of them have come forward to take protection initiatives. The Sultanate of Oman is one of them.
Of the recorded 535 bird species in the Sultanate of Oman, 80 per cent are migratory birds, according to the Environment Authority.
The Sultanate of Oman, represented by the Environment Authority, took part in the meeting held in early May 2023 in New Delhi, India.
The meeting aimed to discuss and agree on a foundational framework for Central Asian Flyway birds and draw conclusions from the report on the status analysis of bird paths in Central Asia launched in 2022.
The other ten countries are Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, India, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The landscape of Central Asia consists of steppe, marshlands, desert and mountains, and it is home to a vast number of species.
The migratory species make the Central Asian Flyway (CAF) important, and it covers the continental area of Eurasia between the Arctic and Indian Oceans as well as the associated island chains. The flyway comprises many migration routes for the water birds.
“The CAF covers at least 279 populations of 182 migratory water bird species, including 29 globally threatened species, which breed, migrate and winter within the region,” stated the Convention on Migratory Species.
The challenges the migratory birds currently face are threats from the wetlands, grasslands and other habitats. Plastic pollution in freshwater has also been a concern, and another factor is light pollution. The countries are making concrete efforts towards the protection of migratory birds.
In Oman, 70 sites have been identified as important areas for birds of migration. One of the favourite places for birdwatching is the Bar Al Hakman wetland reserve in Al Wusta as well as other sites in Dhofar and Al Sharqiyah.
The meeting of the range countries of the Central Asian Flyway in 2021 highlighted the accelerated habitat loss globally during the last decade. The increased weather variability and climate change have resulted in the loss of biodiversity for migratory birds.
Migratory birds use this flyway to complete their annual cycle of breeding, moulting, staging and non-breeding. The countries have decided to formalise an action plan for the conservation of migratory birds.
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