World Migratory Bird Day focuses on declining insect population concerns
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00:00You may not know that it's World Migratory Bird Day. I certainly didn't.
00:05In partnership with the United Nations, a number of international conservation societies are calling for more action to protect migratory birds.
00:14This year they want to raise awareness particularly about the plight of insects upon which these birds depend.
00:20A recent UN report says declining insect populations are a threat to the incredible journeys these birds make each year.
00:28Running the campaign is Amy Frankel, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Migratory Species.
00:34Before that, she was a Senior Advisor on Environmental Policy in the United States.
00:39We can speak to her now. Thanks for joining us.
00:41Thank you very much. Merci.
00:43Remind us first of all of the ecological importance of these great migrations.
00:49Well, migratory species include birds, but also whales, many ocean species as well as terrestrial animals like lions and elephants that people know well.
00:59But what people might not know is that they're in trouble.
01:02And we did actually a recent report earlier this year on all of our species that shows that there are some serious declines.
01:10Today is World Migratory Bird Day, so we're focusing on the situation around birds.
01:15And like the other animals, there are some real concerns.
01:19We rely on these species for things that we don't even think about.
01:23But things like birds can pollinate our flowers along with bees.
01:28They are insect eaters.
01:30And that helps humans, especially when they eat insects that are pests to crops and to people.
01:36And they transfer nutrients as well.
01:40So we really do rely on them as an integral part of our ecosystems.
01:44And if we're losing them at the rates that we are, we need to take action.
01:49Now, we're also losing insects, according to your report.
01:53Why is insects the focus this year?
01:56What's happening there and how does that endanger these birds?
02:00Yes. So every year on World Migratory Bird Day, we focus on a particular threat of concern for our migratory birds.
02:08This year, we're uniquely focusing on insects.
02:11And, in fact, I'm not aware of any other report that's exclusively looking at this issue in the United Nations or otherwise.
02:20And what we're finding, unfortunately, is that insects are also declining around the world.
02:26There's absolute consensus among scientists that we're losing insects.
02:30And one estimate is at about 9 percent a decade.
02:35And this is obviously very concerning, not only for birds, but other species that rely on insects.
02:43And I'm sure people notice the decline even in their own experience.
02:49And many species of birds rely on those insects.
02:52They rely on them to feed. They rely on them for their young.
02:56They sometimes even time their migration, timing when they leave from place to place, when they know that there'll be a certain abundance of insects.
03:05So if they're not there when they need them, when they are getting ready to store energy to fly, sometimes very long distances, then they're not going to survive.
03:15So we want to highlight the concern and the linkage between insect decline and migratory birds, which we are mandated to try to conserve and protect.
03:27And do you look at some of the reasons behind this decline in insect populations?
03:32Absolutely. So some of the key reasons for decline include landscape changes.
03:38So when we're cutting down major forest areas, agriculture, changing of land, natural landscapes into farmed land is one major threat.
03:49Another is the use of chemicals. There's certainly a lot of ties to pollution as well.
03:56And climate change is having an impact.
03:59Now, it's been 25 years since the Convention to Conserve Migratory Species was first signed.
04:05Would you say they're better protected now?
04:08Yeah, absolutely. We have seen a lot of improvement on the species that are listed under the Convention on Migratory Species.
04:16And in fact, we did a global report on the status of migratory species and looked at those trends.
04:21And while some of those trends are still not where they need to be in terms of improvement under our work, we've also seen stabilization and some positive recovery from some species.
04:33But it's very clear that a lot of work needs to be done.
04:37The ties of insect decline to migratory birds, the issues of climate change, land destruction.
04:44And I also need to mention overexploitation of species, including birds, is one of the major threats to migratory species.
04:51But working with our convention, with our partners, with governments, it's absolutely necessary to bring countries together and to arrive at these solutions.
05:01Let's go into a couple of these specific threats then. I saw a couple of them mentioned in your literature.
05:06So tens of millions of birds, as we know, are hunted in Europe every year, many of them migratory.
05:12France is reportedly the highest number of birds hunted each year in Europe.
05:16A lot of this happens legally. Is the convention dead set against this or is it complicated?
05:22Well, we actually have a very focused initiative. It's called the Illegal Killing of Birds Initiative.
05:30And it is actually centered around Mediterranean countries, but it's expanding now to East Asia as well as Southwest Asia.
05:38We're about to launch a new initiative, in fact.
05:41And the goal is to first and foremost stop any illegal killing of birds.
05:47So there's many laws in place at the national level and under our treaty.
05:55If a bird is listed under our treaty and it's especially in trouble, if it's endangered, it's on what we call Appendix 1, it's illegal to take it.
06:04So we are working with countries to monitor it, to track it and to enforce those laws.
06:09And we're seeing good results.
06:11The second thing is we want to make sure there's not unsustainable use.
06:15Even if it's legal, we need to make sure that the amounts of animals that are legally taken is not over the capacity for them to have a good population level and to survive, of course.
06:27So those are the two challenges we have, coupled with the fact that it's not only the killing of these animals that is the threat.
06:36Again, we've got destruction of habitat, pollution, use of chemicals and climate change are just some of the factors that we're also working on.
06:45Another factor I've seen mentioned and actually one that's been tapped on by far left and far right politicians here in France are wind turbines.
06:53They say we need to stop building them to protect birds. Really?
06:58Well, we also have a very, very good program on this.
07:02And we believe that we can build wind farms, but there's ways to minimize impacts on migratory species.
07:08So we have what's called the CMS, Convention on Migratory Species Energy Task Force.
07:14And we bring together some of the investment banks, the major funders around the world, governments, conservation groups and business to look at what we can do to ensure a good uptake of renewable energy, including wind farms, which we, of course, need to address climate change.
07:36But do it in a way that minimizes impacts.
07:39And it's possible. There are ways to map the flight patterns of birds.
07:44We can map the energy options in terms of where you site these installations.
07:50And we also are looking offshore because it's not only birds and bats, by the way, that are at potential risk.
07:58But also when you install offshore wind, we have to think about the impacts and disruption and the noise, actually, for species that we also take care of that are in the ocean.
08:10Amy Frankel, good luck with the campaign. Thanks for speaking to France 24.
08:14Many thanks. Bye bye.