Plastic pollution poses serious health risks to wildlife globally, affecting a wide range of species including whales, turtles, fish and birds. On World Migratory Bird Day, celebrated on 11 May, two UN wildlife treaties and conservationists around the world are calling for urgent action to stop plastic pollution by highlighting its negative effects on seabirds and other migratory birds.

Plastic seems to be on everyone’s lips these days, and we certainly don’t mean single-use straws. Global production of plastic has increased to more than 300 million tons a year, and some staggering 13 m tons of it ends up in the ocean. Plastic pollution poses serious health risks to wildlife, and a new report presented to governments at an international waterbird conference (AEWA MOP7) currently underway in Durban, has shown how migratory waterbirds are affected. However, increasing public awareness and changing habits have the potential to turn the tide.

The Seventh Session of the Meeting of the Parties to the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA MOP7) opened in Durban, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa today. The inter-governmental meeting is set to be the most important international conference on the conservation of migratory waterbirds this year, bringing together close to 300 participants from 81 countries, including 67 national delegations and the European Union, a range of non-governmental organizations and renowned experts from across the African-Eurasian region.

Bucking a major general trend, the overall status of waterbird populations listed on the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) has slightly improved over the last ten years, says a new report. The findings were released ahead of World Migratory Bird Day, an annual, UN-backed global awareness-raising and environmental education campaign focused on migratory birds and the need for international cooperation to conserve them.