One in five of world’s migratory species at risk of extinction – UN report

More than a fifth of the world’s migrating species are at risk of going extinct as a result of climate change and human encroachment, according to the United Nation’s first-ever report on migrating animals published on Monday.

Billions of animals make journeys across deserts, plains or oceans every year to breed and feed, and “unsustainable” pressures put on migratory species could not only see their populations dwindle, but also disrupt food supplies and threaten livelihoods, the report said.

Of the 1,189 species covered by a 1979 U.N. convention to protect migratory animals, 44% have seen numbers decline, and as many as 22% could vanish altogether, the report added.

The numbers were based on assessments and data provided by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as well as the Living Planet Index, which collates population numbers for more than 5,000 species from 1970 onwards.

The report, released on Monday, gives “a very clear direction” about what governments need to do to tackle the threats to migratory species, said Amy Fraenkel, executive secretary of the U.N. Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals.

via Reuters