Important steps taken to conserve Arctic-breeding birds

Long-distance migratory birds that breed in the Arctic are experiencing alarming population declines due to climate change, habitat loss, illegal killing, and pollution. The numbers of some populations of Arctic-breeding migratory birds have declined by 50-90 percent in the past 40 years. As the flyways of these migratory birds cross the globe, it is important to engage actors on a global level, not just around the Arctic.

The Arctic Migratory Birds Initiative (AMBI), coordinated by the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF), the Arctic Council’s biodiversity working group, works to address key threats to Arctic-breeding migratory birds. The initiative is designed to improve the status and secure the long-term sustainability of declining seabird and shorebird populations. AMBI is an important initiative for the Arctic Council, in which, for the first time, specific actions to be taken outside of the Arctic have been identified to help conserve species that migrate to and from the Arctic.

With funding of EUR 100,000 from the Arctic Council Project Support Instrument (PSI), AMBI has developed a framework to implement actions in two flyways, allowing it to identify relevant conservation frameworks, engage strategic partners and leverage additional funding and in-kind contributions to its important work.

“PSI funding has enabled the Arctic Migratory Birds Initiative to build transnational cooperation and deliver on Arctic Biodiversity Assessment recommendations, thereby also helping to strengthen the Arctic Council as an intergovernmental forum to build cooperation for biodiversity conservation”, says Tom Barry, Executive Secretary of CAFF.

Read more about the project.

About CAFF

Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) is the biodiversity working group of the Arctic Council. CAFF’s mandate is to address the conservation of Arctic biodiversity and to communicate its findings to the governments and residents of the Arctic, helping to promote practices to ensure the sustainability of the Arctic’s living resources. It does so through various monitoring, assessment, and expert group activities and by providing policy and management advice to the Arctic Council and its member states and organizations. Read more about CAFF on www.caff.is/ambi.

About PSI

The Arctic Council Project Support Instrument (PSI) provides financing for priority pollution-mitigation projects approved by the Arctic Council. It is a voluntary, non-exclusive mechanism that can use a broad range of funding arrangements, including grants and revolving instruments, and is managed by the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO). The PSI is governed by the PSI Committee, which is composed of representatives of its contributors, currently from Finland, Iceland, NEFCO, Norway, the Russian Federation, the Saami Council, Sweden, and the United States. Read more about PSI.


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