The Central Asian Flyway (CAF), Central Asian-Indian Flyway, or Central Asian-South Asian Flyway is a flyway covering a large continental area of Eurasia between the Arctic Ocean and the Indian Ocean and the associated island chains. The CAF 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.[1]
The concept of flyway is essentially an operational concept linked to waterfowl whose populations one wishes to manage over their entire migration space.[2]
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, in territory of 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.[2]
The Central Asian Flyway covers at least 279 migratory waterbird populations of 182 species, including 29 globally threatened species and near-threatened species that breed, migrate and spend the non-breeding winter period within the region. Species such as the
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.
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.
The Key breeding and staging areas of Bangladesh are: Haor areas such as the Meghna estuary, Tanguar haor and Hail-Hakaluki haors, Chalan Beel, the Sundarbans and other coastal mangroves including Hatia and Nijhum Dweep, haor areas of the north west and off shore Islands.
The Sundarbans mangrove forest of Bangladesh are included within 139,699ha (539sqmi) of 3 Wildlife sanctuaries which are part of the Sunderbans 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]
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.
World Wide Fund for Nature reported that Pakistan's wetlands and their rich biological resources are threatened by 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 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 CAF area are included in the Russian Red Data Book and more than 40 species are hunting objects.[10]
The China–Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (CAMBA) is a bilateral treaty between Australia and China that aims to protect migratory birds and their environment between the two countries. Throughout all six Articles, the treaty defines what a migratory bird is, outlines key prohibitions for both contracting parties and determines the responsibilities of both nations to protect migratory birds and their habitats. The CAMBA was first developed on 20 October 1986, and came into force on 1 September 1988. Eighty-one bird species are listed in the agreement, as shown in the CAMBA Annex listed below.
Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary (PCWBS) is a 21.47-square-kilometre (8.29 sq mi) protected area in Tamil Nadu, South India along the Palk Strait where it meets the Bay of Bengal at Point Calimere (Tamil: கோடியக்கரை Kodiakkarai) at the southeastern tip of Nagapattinam District. The sanctuary was created in 1967 for conservation of the least concern blackbuck antelope, an endemic mammal species of India. It is famous for large congregations of waterbirds, especially greater flamingos. International name: Point Calimere Wildlife Sanctuary, IBA Code: IN275, Criteria: A1, A4i, A4iii. The 7-square-kilometre (2.7 sq mi) core area of this sanctuary has been proposed as a National Park
A flyway is a flight path used by large numbers of birds while migrating between their breeding grounds and their overwintering quarters. Flyways generally span continents and often pass over oceans. Although applying to any species of migrating bird, the concept was first conceived and applied to waterfowl and shore birds. The flyways can be thought of as wide arterial highways to which the migratory routes of different species are tributaries. An alternative definition is that a flyway is the entire range of a migratory bird, encompassing both its breeding and non-breeding grounds, and the resting and feeding locations it uses while migrating. There are four major north–south flyways in North America and six covering Eurasia, Africa, and Australasia.
Vembanad is the longest lake in India, as well as the largest lake in the state of Kerala. The lake has an area of 230 square kilometers and a maximum length of 96.5 km. Spanning several districts in the state of Kerala, it is known as Vembanadu Lake in Kottayam, Vaikom, Changanassery, Punnamada Lake in Alappuzha, Punnappra, Kuttanadu and Kochi Lake in Kochi. Several groups of small islands including Vypin, Mulavukad, Maradu, Udayamperoor, Vallarpadam, and Willingdon Island are located in the Kochi Lake portion. Kochi Port is built around the Willingdon Island and the Vallarpadam island.
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.
Wetlands International is a global organisation that works to sustain and restore wetlands and their resources for people and biodiversity. It is an independent, not-for-profit, global organisation, supported by government and NGO membership from around the world.
Sultanpur National Park (formerly Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary) is located at Sultanpur village on Gurugram-Jhajjar highway, 15 km from Gurugram, Haryana and 50 km from Delhi in India. This covers approximately 142.52 hectares.
The Hokersar is a wetland conservation area in Zainakote, near Srinagar city in Srinagar district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) northwest of Srinagar. The Hokersar, which spreads over 1,375 hectares (13.75 km2), is a designated bird sanctuary.
The East Asian–Australasian Flyway is one of the world's great flyways of migratory birds. At its northernmost it stretches eastwards from the Taimyr Peninsula in Russia to Alaska. Its southern end encompasses Australia and New Zealand. Between these extremes the flyway covers much of eastern Asia, including China, Japan, Korea, South-East Asia and the western Pacific. The EAAF is home to over 50 million migratory water birds from over 250 different populations, including 32 globally threatened species and 19 near threatened species. It is especially important for the millions of migratory waders or shorebirds that breed in northern Asia and Alaska and spend the non-breeding season in South-East Asia and Australasia.
The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals, also known as the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) or the Bonn Convention, is an international agreement that aims to conserve migratory species throughout their ranges. The agreement was signed under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme and is concerned with conservation of wildlife and habitats on a global scale.
The Alaksen National Wildlife Area is located on Westham Island in the city of Delta, British Columbia. It is an important stopover point for many species of birds migrating along the Pacific Flyway.
A haor is a wetland ecosystem in the north eastern part of Bangladesh which physically is a bowl or saucer shaped shallow depression, also known as a backswamp. During monsoon haors receive surface runoff water from rivers and canals to become vast stretches of turbulent water.
The Suchindram Theroor Vembannur Wetland Complex is a protected area comprising the Suchindram Kulam wetlands at 8°7′30″N77°27′30″E, and the Theroor Kulam wetlands at 8°10′45″N77°27′45″E, and the Vembannur Wetland Complex, all near Suchindram town in Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu, India. It is located between Nagercoil and Kanyakumari on the National Highway No. 47. Being at the extreme southern tip of India, this area underlies the southernmost continental range of the Central Asian Flyway. Constitution of this new wildlife sanctuary was proposed in 2002 and remains under consideration of the Government. International name is Suchindram Therur, Vembanoor, Important bird area code no. IN279, criteria: A1, A4i. Parts of the sanctuary have been designated as protected Ramsar sites since 2022.
The San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex is located in the northern San Joaquin Valley, within Merced County and Stanislaus County of California. The complex, with four federal National Wildlife Refuges, is managed by the U.S Fish & Wildlife Service.
The Kanwar Taal or Kabar Taal Lake or Kabartal Wetland located in Begusarai district of Bihar, India, is Asia's largest freshwater oxbow lake. It is approximately six times the size of the Bharatpur Sanctuary. In November 2020, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) declared it the first Ramsar site in Bihar. There are a total of 75 Ramsar Sites in India till 2022.
The Asian–East African Flyway is a group of well-established routes by which many species of birds migrate annually between mid-Palearctic breeding grounds in Asia and non-breeding sites in eastern and southern Africa.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Concerning Conservation Measures for the Siberian Crane is a Multilateral Environmental Memorandum of Understanding and came into effect on 1 July 1993 and was amended in January 1999. It was the first MoU to be concluded under the auspices of the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), also known as the Bonn Convention, and focuses on conserving the Siberian crane as one of the three rarest crane species. The MoU covers twelve range states. As of August 2012, eleven range states have signed the MoU.
Blue Bird Lake, Hisar is a resident and endangered migratory bird wetland habitat, lake and recreation area in the town of Hisar, in the Hisar district of Haryana State, India.
Haiderpur wetland is a UNESCO Ramsar site located near the Bijnor Ganga Barrage within the Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh, India.
The Grassland Ecological Area, also known as the Grasslands Ecological Area is a designated Ramsar Site in Central California. It covers an area of 250 square miles (650 km2) along the San Joaquin River in California's Central Valley. The wetlands are on the Pacific Flyway, and are an important habitat for resident and migratory waterbirds.
↑ 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.4.13ed.). Delhi: UNEP/CMS. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2011-06-11. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
↑ 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)
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