Species back from brink, on road to recovery

A landmark report on the world’s threatened migratory species is a catalogue of decline and destruction, but the handful of animals staging a comeback shows improvement is possible.

Humpback whales breach off Sydney. Picture: Jonas Liebschner/Whale Watching Sydney

A landmark report on the world’s threatened migratory species is a catalogue of decline and destruction, but the handful of animals staging a comeback shows improvement is possible – if humans change their ways.

From the majestic humpback whale launching into the air from the waves, or the thousands of snub-nosed saiga antelope fanning across the steppes of Central Asia, these sights would have been barely possible without the concerted conservation efforts that have helped these species rebuild populations.

The State of the World’s ­Migratory Species assessment, published overnight on Monday, found that animals, fish, birds and reptiles listed for protection under the UN Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals were seeing declines across the world. The conservation status of about 70 threatened species worsened between 1988 and 2020. But 14 have shown an improvement, it found.

International restrictions on commercial whaling have allowed the humpback whale population to rebound and today more than 80,000 mature individuals navigate the world’s oceans.

While some subpopulations have recovered more than 90 per cent of their pre-whaling numbers, the CMS report said other smaller groupings, such as the humpbacks in the Arabian Sea, were still endangered.

Continuing threats include fishing gear, underwater noise pollution and collisions with ships.

Another species on the comeback trail is the vicuna, a llama-like creature that roams wild in parts of Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile and Peru, and is one of the few undomesticated animals sought for its wool.

Vicuna numbers have recovered thanks to the reintroduction of indigenous methods of fleece production.

Illegal poaching brought vicunas to the brink of extinction, but numbers are increasing thanks to legal protection from hunting, an international trade ban and education initiatives.

The lesser kestrel was once one of the most abundant small ­migratory birds of prey, found from Spain to southern Russia and China. The use of pesticides, especially DDT from the 1940s to 1970s, poisoned the birds directly and drastically reduced their prey.

Habitat loss from urbanisation and agricultural intensification also caused severe population ­declines throughout Europe.

Since the 1980s, targeted conservation efforts – such as providing artificial nests, restoring breeding colonies and releasing captive-bred birds into the wild – have helped boost populations in southwestern Europe.

National and international conservation efforts have also helped bring the saiga antelope back from the brink of extinction.

The number of saiga antelope has rebounded.

The revival of Kazakhstan’s steppe and wetland habitats, projects to reintroduce native species and efforts to work with local communities to address overexploitation all played a role in their recovery. The antelope population in Kazakhstan rebounded from a perilous low of 50,000 in 2006, to over 1.3 million in 2022.

The black-faced spoonbill is a migratory seabird found in North and South Korea, China, Russia, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and The Philippines.

Black-faced spoonbill in the Han River Estuary of South Korea.

Its habitat has come under threat from growing human populations and agricultural and industrial development, while the birds face pesticide pollution, hunting and the collection of eggs from nesting sites. But legal protections, designation of breeding sites as seabird sanctuaries and wetland restoration projects have helped to improve its status.

AFP