Each year, billions of birds trace ancient routes across continents, stitching ecosystems together in ways human civilization has long taken for granted. At the Global Flyways Summit in Nairobi, a sobering reckoning arrived: nearly half of all migratory bird species are in decline, and one in nine now faces extinction — losses driven not by mystery but by the accumulated weight of human choices around land, climate, and consumption. The summit gathered governments, conservationists, and financiers not to mourn, but to demonstrate that coordinated, cross-border action has already begun to rever
Nearly half of migratory bird species in decline, global summit warns
Migratory bird population collapse threatens ecosystem services supporting billions of people dependent on wetlands and coastal habitats for food and livelihoods.
Migratory birds do not recognise borders. They connect Asia to Africa.
Mark
So nearly half of all migratory birds are declining. That's a staggering number. But what does it actually mean for the birds themselves—are we talking about species going extinct, or just populations getting smaller?
Mimi
Both, actually. One in nine species is threatened with extinction. The Slender-billed Curlew is already gone—last seen in 1995. But most of the decline is population loss. Billions of birds are simply not making their journeys anymore.
Luke
Wait—the report says one in nine is threatened with extinction. That's not the same as one in nine being in decline. Nearly half are in decline. So we're talking about a much larger number of species losing population without necessarily facing extinction yet.
Mimi
Right. The decline is the warning sign. The extinction is what happens if we don't reverse course.
Mark
The report mentions that solutions are known. What does that mean? We know how to fix this?
Mimi
Coordinated action across entire migration routes. The European turtle dove was collapsing, but France, Spain, and Portugal agreed to a four-year hunting moratorium. Since 2021, that population has risen 40 percent.
Luke
That's one example. But it required three countries to agree on the same policy. How many flyways have that kind of coordination? The report says 58 percent of key migratory bird sites are in poor or very poor condition. That suggests the coordination isn't happening at scale yet.
Mimi
No, it's not. That's why the summit happened. That's why $6 billion in commitments were made.
Mark
But is $6 billion enough? The report mentions a $900 billion funding gap.
Luke
That's the gap to meet all international biodiversity commitments, not just birds. Still, it shows the scale of what's being asked versus what's being delivered.
Mimi
The Asian Development Bank alone is putting $3 billion into 50 wetlands across one flyway. That's real money moving into real places.
Mark
Kenya is hosting this summit and sits on the African Eurasian Flyway. What's at stake for Kenya specifically?
Mimi
The birds that breed in Europe and Asia depend on Kenya's wetlands and grasslands. If those habitats degrade, the birds disappear. But so do the ecosystem services—water filtration, food security, climate regulation—that support 200 million people across the region.
Luke
The report doesn't quantify how many people in Kenya specifically depend on these ecosystems. It gives the 200 million figure for the Asian Development Bank's wetland project, which is across multiple countries. We should be careful not to overstate Kenya's share without more data.
Der Puls
- The Slender-billed Curlew, last glimpsed at a Moroccan lagoon in 1995, has become the first bird species lost from mainland Eurasia and Africa in centuries — a marker of how far the crisis has already progressed.
- Seabirds and shorebirds, creatures bound to the planet's most fragile edges, are among the most imperiled, as agricultural intensification, invasive species, climate change, and unsustainable hunting converge on their habitats simultaneously.
- A four-year hunting moratorium across France, Spain, and Portugal has already lifted the Western flyway population of the European turtle dove by more than 40 percent since 2021, proving that deliberate, multi-country intervention can turn collapse into recovery.
- Over $6 billion in multilateral development bank commitments since 2021 — including $3 billion from the Asian Development Bank alone — is beginning to move conservation finance at a scale commensurate with the crisis.
- A $900 billion funding gap still looms over global biodiversity commitments, and the birds will not wait for institutions to close it.
Each year, billions of birds trace ancient routes across continents, stitching ecosystems together in ways human civilization has long taken for granted. At the Global Flyways Summit in Nairobi, a sobering reckoning arrived: nearly half of all migratory bird species are in decline, and one in nine now faces extinction — losses driven not by mystery but by the accumulated weight of human choices around land, climate, and consumption. The summit gathered governments, conservationists, and financiers not to mourn, but to demonstrate that coordinated, cross-border action has already begun to reverse what once seemed irreversible.
Nearly half of the world's migratory bird species are in decline, and one in nine now faces extinction. That was the central finding of a comprehensive report unveiled at the Global Flyways Summit in Nairobi — a gathering that brought together governments, conservation organizations, and financial institutions to confront a crisis that is neither mysterious nor inevitable. The causes are well understood: invasive species, agricultural intensification, climate change, and unsustainable hunting. The solutions, too, are known. What has been missing is the scale and coordination to apply them.
The losses are no longer abstract. The Slender-billed Curlew, last seen at a Moroccan lagoon in February 1995, represents the first extinction of a bird species in mainland Eurasia and Africa in recent centuries. Six other migratory species have been confirmed or suspected lost over the past 150 years. Seabirds and shorebirds — dependent on the most fragile coastal and marine ecosystems — are among the most threatened.
But the summit was convened to demonstrate that reversal is possible. The Nairobi Flyways Declaration rests on a foundational truth: migratory birds do not respect borders, and neither can their protection. Multi-country action has already saved the Egyptian Vulture's Balkan breeding population from further decline. A coordinated hunting moratorium across France, Spain, and Portugal has lifted the European turtle dove's Western flyway population by more than 40 percent since 2021. Protected key migratory sites have grown from 11 percent in 1980 to 49 percent today.
The financial architecture to sustain these efforts is taking shape. Three multilateral development banks have integrated flyway conservation into their lending frameworks, with commitments exceeding $6 billion since 2021. The Asian Development Bank is mobilizing $3 billion over the next decade to protect priority wetlands across the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, supporting nearly 200 million people. The Global Environment Facility has approved $107 million in co-financing for conservation across nine million hectares of wetlands.
Still, a $900 billion gap remains between current commitments and what international biodiversity targets require. Kenya, positioned at the heart of the African-Eurasian Flyway, emerges from the summit not merely as a conservation site but as a steward and a model. The birds are already moving along their ancient routes. The question is whether the institutions that govern land and water can move swiftly enough to meet them.
Nearly half of the world's migratory bird species are in decline, according to a comprehensive report unveiled Friday at the Global Flyways Summit in Nairobi. The finding carries particular weight: one in every nine migratory species now faces extinction. The declines are not mysterious. They stem from human activity—invasive species, agricultural intensification, climate change, and unsustainable hunting—each one a known problem with known solutions, yet collectively they are reshaping the planet's bird populations at an accelerating pace.
The scale of what is being lost became concrete in the report's accounting of extinctions. The Slender-billed Curlew, last seen at a Moroccan lagoon in February 1995, represents the first global extinction of a bird species in mainland Eurasia and Africa in recent centuries. Six other migratory species have been confirmed or suspected lost over the past 150 years. Species dependent on marine habitats, forests, and coastal wetlands are faring worst. Seabirds and shorebirds—creatures that depend on the most fragile ecosystems—are among the most threatened.
Yet the summit, held at Safari Park Hotel, was not convened merely to document decline. It was called to demonstrate that reversal is possible when countries act in concert. The Nairobi Flyways Declaration, signed by governments, conservation organizations, and financial institutions, rests on a simple recognition: migratory birds do not respect borders. A bird breeding in the Arctic may winter in Africa. A species that nests in Europe may feed in the Mediterranean. Their survival depends on coordinated protection across entire migration routes, not isolated conservation at single sites.
The evidence for this approach is already accumulating. Multi-country action to protect the Egyptian Vulture halted the decline of the Balkan breeding population. A coordinated four-year hunting moratorium agreed across France, Spain, and Portugal reversed the collapse of the European turtle dove—since 2021, the Western flyway population has risen by more than 40 percent. Protection of key migratory bird sites has grown from 11 percent on average in 1980 to 49 percent today. These are not abstract victories. They represent millions of birds returning to skies where they had nearly vanished.
The financial machinery to scale these efforts is beginning to move. Three multilateral development banks have integrated flyway conservation into their lending frameworks, bringing commitments made since 2021 to more than $6 billion. The Asian Development Bank is mobilizing $3 billion over the next decade to protect at least 50 priority wetlands across the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, supporting nearly 200 million people who depend on these ecosystems. The Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean is mobilizing $3 to $5 billion through 2050 to safeguard more than 30 landscapes and seascapes. The World Bank and BirdLife are mobilizing several billion dollars across Africa, Europe, and Asia along flyways used by more than two billion migratory birds. In June 2026, the Global Environment Facility approved the Global Flyways Grant Mechanism, providing $8.97 million in direct grants and $107 million in co-financing for conservation and restoration across nine million hectares of wetlands, benefiting an estimated 330,000 people.
Yet a funding gap remains. The conservation sector estimates a $900 billion shortfall to meet major international biodiversity commitments. Kenya, which sits in the middle of the African Eurasian Flyway—one of the largest migratory routes on Earth—is positioned as both stakeholder and steward. The birds that breed in Europe, Asia, and the Arctic depend on Kenya's wetlands, grasslands, and forests. The summit's framing of African nations not merely as conservation sites but as solutions themselves reflects a shift in how the global community approaches the problem. The birds are moving. The question now is whether the institutions that govern land and water will move fast enough to meet them.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
Migratory birds do not recognise borders. They connect Asia to Africa, the Arctic to the tropics. The Nairobi Flyways Declaration acknowledges this reality.— HIH Princess Takamado, Honorary President, BirdLife International
Evidence-based interventions can restore habitats, prevent extinctions, and enable populations to recover. The coordinated four-year moratorium across France, Spain and Portugal has seen the Western flyway European turtle dove population rise by more than 40 per cent since 2021.— Dr Stuart Butchart, BirdLife International chief scientist
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