Migratory Soaring Birds Project Overview

Red Kite - Flickr - Tony Hisgett

The Rift Valley / Red Sea Flyway

Each year, over 1.5 million

soaring birds migrate through the

Middle East and East Africa along the

Rift Valley / Red Sea Flyway between

their breeding grounds in Europe

and wintering areas in Africa.

Eurasian Crane - Flickr - Tomas Caspers

The Rift Valley / Red Sea Flyway

SYRIA

LEBANON

JORDAN

PALESTINE

EGYPT

SUDAN

ERITREA

ETHIOPIA

DJIBOUTI

SAUDI ARABIA

YEMEN

• > 1.5 Million MSBs belongs to 37 species = 2nd most important flyway in the world

• 5 Globally threatened species (IUCN)

• 37 species with unfavorable conservation status (CMS)

• 35 species on CITES

• 23 globally important bottleneck sites (IBAs)

• Cross-cutting flyway/landscape importance

Importance and Significance of the Rift Valley/Red Sea Flyway

• Energetically Costly

Activity

• Flyway Bottlenecks

• Unpredictable Landing

sites

Soaring Birds Migration Characteristics

LESSER KESTREL - male, Dave Nye. 01

RED-FOOTED FALCON - male, Dave Nye. 03

• Hunting, Persecution,

Harvesting, Falconry

• Pesticides , Herbicides ,

Agricultural Wastes

• Solid and Liquid Wastes

• Collision with Power Lines

and Wind Farms,

Electrocution, Habitat Loss

Threats on Migratory Soaring Birds along the Flyway

Eurasian Griffon - Flickr - Alejandro Monge

• Biological Value → Top of the food chain and hence play a crucial role in the balance of ecosystems

• Economical Value → Ecosystem services → Create niche markets

• Cultural Value → Part of European and African mythology → National Emblems

• Aesthetic Value → Show the wonder of migration

Why conserve soaring birds?

Eurasian Crane - Flickr - Sergey Yeliseev

Each country along the Flyway is a link in a chain of countries through which

the soaring birds migrate

The flyway is a single unit and actions taken in one country have knock-on

effects beyond country borders, and therefore there is a joint responsibility for

the conservation of these birds.

The Flyway Concept

Eurasian Crane - Flickr - Sergey Yeliseev

Project’s Objective

To make the Rift Valley / Red Sea flyway a safer route for

migratory soaring birds

White Pelican - www.dereliev-photography.com - Sergey Dereliev

Innovative concept of ‘Double Mainstreaming’

To successfully reach the objective, the project adopts an innovative

approach:

Double Mainstreaming

1. MSB conservation mainstreamed into vehicle project 2. Vehicle project targets specific productive sector → As a result MSB conservation mainstreamed into productive

sector

Threatening Sectors

• Hunting

• Energy

• Agriculture

• Waste Management

Opportunity Sector

• Tourism

The Targeted Sectors

WindFarm - www.dereliev-photography.com - Sergey Dereliev 10

www.nowlebanon.com

http://naturescrusaders.wordpress.com

http://postconflict.unep.ch/sudanreport/sudan_website/index.html

http://www.luxuryistanbul.com/

• Tens of thousands of MSBs

are killed along the flyway

each year

• Hunting is excessive and

indiscriminate

• Raptors and storks are

particularly vulnerable

Hunting Sector

Juvenile Imperial Eagle and Fan-tailed Raven, Yemen, January 2011. RFPorter. 1285

RSCN

• Death due collision, electrocution

and habitat loss

• Major economical losses

• Estimation of wildlife-caused

power cuts cost between US$32

million and US$317 million

Energy Sector

WindFarm - www.dereliev-photography.com - Sergey Dereliev

A-Alsuhaibany

• Pesticide poisoning through

ingestion of prey

• Water contamination by

agricultural runoff

• Benefits through ecological

functions

• Creation of niche markets

Agriculture Sector

International Institute of Tropical Agriculture

• Ingestion of toxic substances

• Entanglement in plastic, wire, and other

debris

• Drowning, entrapment in sludge

• Infection by contaminated water

• Provision of important and safe habitat

for MSBs when managed properly

Waste Management Sector

• Huge economic benefits

• Opportunities in terms of awareness of MSBs issues and conservation needs.

• US$ 31M into the local economy at Cape May bottleneck site, New Jersey from

more than 100,000 birdwatchers annually

Tourism Sector

Raptor watching, Upper Akkar, September 2011, RFPorter.0643 Flickr - Philip Whittaker

• Cost effective

→ MSB project benefits from the existing funds mobilized by the “vehicle project”

• Time effective

→ MSB project benefits from the basis and previous mainstreaming achievement

of the “vehicle project” into the targeted sector

• In keeping with migratory soaring birds characteristics

→ Project conservation actions impacts the overall range of targeted sector and

are not limited to specific sites

Benefits of the ‘Double Mainstreaming’ Approach

• Djibouti

• Egypt

• Eritrea

• Ethiopia

• Jordan

• Lebanon

• Palestinian Authority

• Saudi Arabia

• Sudan

• Syria

• Yemen

Participating Countries

Egyptian Vulture- Flickr - doevos

Project’s Outcome 1. Raised awareness & alter

behaviours by key target audiences

2. Increased capacity for mainstreaming flyway concept

3. Flyway sensitive practices mainstreamed into sectors

4. Lessons learned and shared

Thank You

For Further Information Kindly Visit our Website:

www.birdlife.org/migratorysoaringbirds

Common Kestrel - Flickr - Le No