Migratory Soaring Birds Project Overview. Red Kite - Flickr - Tony Hisgett

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1 Migratory Soaring Birds Project Overview Red Kite - Flickr - Tony Hisgett

2 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

3 The Rift Valley / Red Sea Flyway SYRIA LEBANON JORDAN PALESTINE EGYPT SUDAN SAUDI ARABIA YEMEN ERITREA ETHIOPIA DJIBOUTI

4 Importance and Significance of the Rift Valley/Red Sea Flyway > 1.5 Million MSBs belongs to 37 species = 2 nd 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

5 Soaring Birds Migration Characteristics Energetically Costly Activity Flyway Bottlenecks RED-FOOTED FALCON - male, Dave Nye. 03 Unpredictable Landing sites LESSER KESTREL - male, Dave Nye. 01

6 Threats on Migratory Soaring Birds along the Flyway Hunting, Persecution, Harvesting, Falconry Pesticides, Herbicides, Agricultural Wastes Solid and Liquid Wastes Collision with Power Lines and Wind Farms, Eurasian Griffon - Flickr - Alejandro Monge Electrocution, Habitat Loss

7 Eurasian Crane - Flickr - Sergey Yeliseev Why conserve soaring birds? 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

8 The Flyway Concept 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. Eurasian Crane - Flickr - Sergey Yeliseev

9 Project s Objective To make the Rift Valley / Red Sea flyway a safer route for migratory soaring birds White Pelican Sergey Dereliev

10 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

11 The Targeted Sectors Threatening Sectors Hunting Energy Agriculture Waste Management WindFarm Sergey Dereliev 10 Opportunity Sector Tourism te/index.html

12 Hunting Sector Tens of thousands of MSBs are killed along the flyway each year Hunting is excessive and indiscriminate Juvenile Imperial Eagle and Fan-tailed Raven, Yemen, January RFPorter Raptors and storks are particularly vulnerable RSCN

13 Death due collision, electrocution and habitat loss Energy Sector Major economical losses Estimation of wildlife-caused power cuts cost between US$32 million and US$317 million WindFarm Sergey Dereliev A-Alsuhaibany

14 Agriculture Sector Pesticide poisoning through ingestion of prey Water contamination by agricultural runoff International Institute of Tropical Agriculture Benefits through ecological functions Creation of niche markets

15 Waste Management Sector 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

16 Huge economic benefits Tourism Sector 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 Flickr - Philip Whittaker Raptor watching, Upper Akkar, September 2011, RFPorter.0643

17 Cost effective Benefits of the Double Mainstreaming Approach 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

18 Participating Countries Djibouti Egypt Eritrea Ethiopia Jordan Lebanon Palestinian Authority Saudi Arabia Sudan Syria Yemen Egyptian Vulture- Flickr - doevos

19 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 Project s Outcome

20 Thank You For Further Information Kindly Visit our Website: Common Kestrel - Flickr - Le No