On Saturday, 8 May people all over the world will be celebrating World Migratory Bird Day, a global campaign which aims to raise awareness of migratory birds and the need for international cooperation to conserve them. This year’s theme “Sing, Fly, Soar – Like A Bird!” focuses on the phenomena of “bird song” and “bird flight” as a way to inspire and connect people of all ages around the globe in their shared desire to protect and celebrate migratory birds. The day also serves as a reminder that migratory birds are in serious decline, and need international action to ensure their survival.

For the past 25 years, millions of migratory waterbirds that link Africa, Europe and parts of Asia have benefitted from the collective work being carried out by countries and other actors under the framework of the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA). Signed on 16 June 1995 in The Hague, the Netherlands, the intergovernmental treaty dedicated to conserving migratory waterbirds across African and Eurasia has a geographical range that stretches across 119 countries. With currently 80 Contracting Parties, including 38 from Africa and 42 from Eurasia including the European Union, AEWA is the largest legally binding instrument concluded under the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). 

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.