CMS Working Group on Flyways. 62. Xx Xxxxx explained that the establishment of this Working Group is also the consequence of a decision by COP9, whereby three reviews were carried out about the assessment of the current knowledge of bird flyways and the gap analysis and identification of conservation priorities. Figures show that a total of 1.600 species of land birds migrate across a broad front of continents and 550 species of waterbirds with regular flyways migrate along a chain of habitats that need to be conserved. There are about 160 soaring birds (raptors, storks etc.) for which bottlenecks are main problems along their routes and a total of 14% of all migratory species are threatened by extinction. AEWA is considered to be a model for dealing with the flyway approach; however implementation of all the existing instruments must be enhanced (this also relates to Option 1 of the CMS Future Shape proposals). The protection of key sites is a priority, but the coverage of taxa, (i.e. seabirds and land birds) must also be improved. The Working Group had included the main findings and recommendations of the reviews in a draft Resolution on Global Flyways9, for the consideration of CMS COP10.
