Pretoria – Migratory waterbirds are faced with a wide range of threats, which are mostly human induced such as pollution, deforestation and land use change.
“This leads to the destruction of the habitat which these migratory birds use for breeding and as stop- overs on their global journey,” Environmental Affairs Deputy Minister Barbara Thomson said on Tuesday, in Cape Town.
The Deputy Minister, who called for the protection of the migratory waterbirds, said other threats included electrocution or collision caused by high-voltage power lines and wind turbines.
Poaching of eggs and chicks also remain widely practised in countries where people are highly dependent on biodiversity for their livelihoods.
“These and many other human activities are putting the migratory waterbirds in danger of becoming extinct.
“This state of affairs calls for urgent action by countries that are range states to these species,” Deputy Minister Thomson said.
She said decisions to be taken at the 6th Meeting of Parties to the Africa Eurasian Waterbirds Agreement later this year should be mindful of the fact that the Africa region is faced with serious socio-economic challenges such as unemployment and poverty while it addresses the challenges faced by waterbirds.
“To achieve this balance between conservation and socio-economic development needs, it will be important to develop partnerships with the various organisations in our respective countries particularly those organisations that are involved in development initiatives that pose threats to birds in general and migratory water birds in particular,” Deputy Minister Thomson said.
The 6th Meeting of Parties to the Africa Eurasian Waterbirds Agreement will be held in Bonn, Germany, from 09-14 November 2015. – SAnews.gov.za
