The two-day meeting of 30 range countries of Central Asian Flyway has begun.
What is Central Asian Flyway?
- Central Asian Flyway (CAF) is a flyway covering a large continental area of Eurasia between the Arctic Ocean and the Indian Ocean and the associated island chains.
- It comprises several important migration routes of 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.
- The CAF range is essentially centred on one of the three major wintering areas of waterfowl in the Old World, namely the Indian subcontinent, the other two being Africa.
- There are also the African-Eurasian Flyway (AEWA) to the west, and south-east Asia 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.
Range countries
- The flyway covers 30 countries of North, Central and South Asia and Trans-Caucasus.
- India is the core country of the CAF and supports 257 species of water birds.
Major migratory birds
- Critically Endangered – northern bald ibis, white-bellied heron, Baer’s pochard
- Endangered – greater adjutant
- Vulnerable – black-necked crane, Indian skimmer, lesser adjutant, masked finfoot, Socotra cormorant, wood snipe
- Near Threatened – black-headed ibis, lesser flamingo, pygmy cormorant, white-eyed gull
Why designate such flyways?
- Approximately one in five of the world’s 11,000 bird species11,000 bird species migrate, some covering enormous distances.
- Conserving migratory birds requires cooperation and coordination along the entire flyway between countries and across national boundaries.
UPSC 2022 countdown has begun! Get your personal guidance plan now! (Click here)
