Flyways scale conservation

Many of the species or populations of marine bird in the OSPAR Area are highly migratory. The status of marine birds in the North-East Atlantic is “not good”, but the causes of this may include factors operating beyond the OSPAR Area, e.g. either in the Mediterranean or Baltic or further south in African wintering grounds. Pressures and threats vary geographically in different parts of their range. The status and threats of migratory marine birds need to be assessed at a flyways scale as part of an international holistic approach to conservation action. This requires international cooperation throughout their flyways.

This action will help OSPAR Contracting Parties to work with each other and with other countries at a flyway scale, through Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs). It will aim to more closely align OSPAR with other relevant MEAs. Collaboration with other MEAs will help to avoid duplication of effort and will help to address the challenges of reducing pressures on migratory marine birds throughout their flyway. This will mainly involve:

• OSPAR will become more closely aligned with the African Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) through a Memorandum of Understanding. This will include implementation at a Regional Seas Convention scale of emerging seabird priorities identified by AEWA (in Resolution 7.6).
• OSPAR will work with Arctic Council through the working group on the Conservation on Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) and the Arctic Migratory Birds Initiative (AMBI) on the development and implementation of relevant species action plans.