United Nations May 12 (TNS): United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has said on occasion of World Migratory Bird Day, celebrated on Saturday with the soaring message \u201cUnifying Our Voices for Bird Conservation\u201d that Migratory Bird makes their global journeys, migratory birds not only set birdwatchers\u2019 binoculars agog, they also help the planet maintain its essential ecological balance.<\/p>\n
In a key message on the occasion, UN chief said \u201cMigratory birds connect people, ecosystems, and nations. They are symbols of peace and of an interconnected planet,\u201d Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres said in a statement to mark the Day.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir epic journeys inspire people of all ages, across the globe,\u201d he continued, adding: \u201cWorld Migratory Bird Day is an opportunity to celebrate the great natural wonder of bird migration \u2013 but also a reminder that those patterns, and ecosystems worldwide, are threatened by climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Day highlights the need to conserve migratory birds and their habitats by raising awareness of the threats they face, their ecological importance and the need for international cooperation to conserve them.<\/p>\n
Migratory birds fly hundreds and thousands of kilometers, along with historic routes, to find the best habitats available for feeding, breeding and raising their young. The perilous journeys involve a wide and diverse array of threats.<\/p>\n
Of the 11,000-bird species on the planet, one-in-five is considered migratory. Forty percent of them are in decline, with one-in-eight under threat of global extinction. Major threats include habitat loss and degradation, caused by agricultural and coastal development; collision with badly placed wind turbines and power lines; unsustainable harvesting, and illegal killing and taking.<\/p>\n
Migratory birds are also greatly affected by poisonings, such as through ingesting lead released into the environment, through spent ammunition, or toxic weights used for fishing.<\/p>\n
\u201cMigratory birds are under threat from every corner: they are losing their habitats, subjected to illegal killing and suffering from the impacts of climate change,\u201d said Erik Solheim, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme, UNEP, adding that we all have a responsibility to \u201csave such a precious component of the natural world.\u201d<\/p>\n
By protecting them, we protect our planet.<\/p>\n
Key supporters and partners globally, are adamant that successful migratory bird conservation can only be achieved through a united effort.<\/p>\n
Beginning this year, World Migratory Bird Day will be observed annually each May and October, to coincide with the cycle of migration, making it possible to organize events in countries around the world at peak migration times.<\/p>\n
\u201cI urge Governments and people everywhere to take concerted conservation action that will help to ensure the birds\u2019 survival \u2013 and our own,\u201d the Secretary-General concluded.<\/p>\n
TNS\/ UN News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
United Nations May 12 (TNS): United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has said on occasion of World Migratory Bird Day, celebrated on Saturday with the soaring message \u201cUnifying Our Voices for Bird Conservation\u201d that Migratory Bird makes their global journeys, migratory birds not only set birdwatchers\u2019 binoculars agog, they also help the planet maintain its essential […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":63570,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tns.world\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tns.world\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tns.world\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tns.world\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tns.world\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=64878"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tns.world\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64878\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":64879,"href":"https:\/\/tns.world\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64878\/revisions\/64879"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tns.world\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/63570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tns.world\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=64878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tns.world\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=64878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tns.world\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=64878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}