Governments, scientists, conservation organisations and financial institutions have signed the Nairobi Flyways Declaration, committing to coordinated action to protect migratory birds and the habitats they depend on as new research shows that 45 per cent of migratory bird species are in decline.
The declaration was signed on Friday in Nairobi during the Global Flyways Summit, which also saw the launch of BirdLife International’s State of the World’s Birds report, the first edition of the publication dedicated to migratory birds and the flyways connecting their breeding, stopover and non-breeding grounds.
The summit brought together stakeholders from across the world and highlighted more than $6 billion (Sh776,400,000,000) in conservation financing being mobilised by three multilateral development banks through initiatives launched since 2021.
Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado, Honorary President of BirdLife International, said the declaration marked an important moment for global conservation efforts.
“We stand at a turning point. Migratory birds do not recognise borders. They connect Asia to Africa, the Arctic to the tropics. The Nairobi Flyways Declaration acknowledges this reality,” she said.
“I am proud to see the scientific community, conservation organisations and finance institutions united behind the science. This is the moment we have been waiting for.”
According to the report, 45 per cent of migratory bird species are declining, while one in nine species is threatened with extinction.
The report also highlights the 2025 extinction of the Slender-billed Curlew, which was last recorded at a Moroccan lagoon in February 1995. BirdLife said the extinction marked the first global bird extinction in mainland Eurasia and Africa in recent centuries.
Six other migratory species have also been confirmed or suspected to have disappeared over the past 150 years.
Seabirds and shorebirds are among the most threatened groups, with species dependent on marine habitats, forests and coastal wetlands facing particular pressure.
BirdLife said the major drivers of the declines are largely human-related and include invasive species, agricultural intensification, climate change and unsustainable hunting.
However, the report said there were examples showing that coordinated conservation efforts could reverse population declines. It cited multi-country action for the Egyptian Vulture, which has helped halt the decline of its Balkan breeding population.
BirdLife International Chief Scientist Dr Stuart Butchart said migratory birds provide an important warning about the health of ecosystems.
“Migratory birds are sentinels, and their declines reveal growing pressure on the natural systems that sustain us,” Butchart said. “But the science is equally clear: conservation works, with co-ordinated action preventing extinctions and helping populations recover. The solutions exist: what is needed now is their implementation at flyway scale.”
The financing commitments announced at the summit include $3 billion from the Asian Development Bank over the next decade to protect at least 50 priority wetlands along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. The initiative is expected to support nearly 200 million people who depend on the ecosystems.
In the Americas, the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean is mobilising between $3 billion and $5 billion through 2050 to safeguard more than 30 landscapes and seascapes.
The World Bank and BirdLife International are also mobilising several billion dollars for conservation initiatives across Africa, Europe and Asia along flyways used by more than two billion migratory birds.Nature Kenya Executive Director Dr Paul Matiku said Africa had a central role in protecting migratory species and their habitats.
“The birds that breed in Europe, Asia and the Arctic depend on our wetlands, grasslands and forests,” Matiku said. “The Nairobi Declaration and finance commitments recognise that African nations are not just stakeholders: we are stewards of solutions.”
The summit also highlighted community-led conservation. In June 2026, the Global Environment Facility approved the Global Flyways Grant Mechanism, providing $8.97 million in direct grants and $107 million in co-financing for conservation and restoration across nine million hectares of wetlands.
BirdLife International Chief Executive Martin Harper said reversing the decline would require action from governments, businesses and civil society.
“The State of the World's Birds report is unambiguous: we are losing migratory birds at an alarming rate,” Harper said.
“But today's Nairobi Declaration signals a turning point. We need everyone to step up and play their part.” BirdLife said the Global Flyways Programme will focus on protecting entire ecological networks rather than isolated sites, bringing partners together to conserve habitats from breeding grounds to stopover and non-breeding areas.