One in nine migratory bird species faces extinction, and 45% of populations are in decline worldwide, according to a global assessment released in September 2026. Governments and financial institutions meeting in Nairobi pledged $6 billion for habitat restoration along major flyways to counter escalating threats from farming, heating, and illegal hunting.
The Extinction Crisis and Shrinking Populations
The numbers from the State of the World’s Birds report paint a stark picture for avian species that cross international borders. Published by BirdLife International, the assessment reveals that 45% of the 1,843 migratory species evaluated have declining global populations. Thirty percent remain stable, 14% are increasing, and the trends for the remaining 11% are unknown.
Among those assessed, 200 species—representing 11% of all migratory birds—are threatened with extinction. This category includes 32 critically endangered species, 57 endangered species, and 111 vulnerable ones. A further 111 species are near threatened, bringing the proportion of migratory birds of significant conservation concern to roughly 17%.
Human activities drive nearly all of these declines. Habitat loss, intensive farming, invasive species, pollution, and global heating top the list of pressures. In regions like North America, studies cited in the assessment show that 419 migratory species experienced a net loss of approximately 2.5 billion birds between 1970 and 2017. Meanwhile, long-distance migrants traveling between Europe and Africa have dropped by roughly 35% since 1980.
Vulnerable Habitats and the Extinction of the Slender-Billed Curlew
Seabirds and shorebirds dependent on marine habitats and coastal wetlands are faring particularly badly. The report indicates that 54% of migratory shorebird species and 49% of migratory seabirds are in decline. The East Asian-Australasian Flyway records the highest proportion of declining species among the four major land-based flyway corridors, standing at 53%.
The toll of these pressures includes confirmed extinctions. The slender-billed curlew, a migratory shorebird last reliably recorded in Morocco in 1995, was officially declared extinct, marking the first global bird extinction in mainland Eurasia and Africa in recent centuries. Worldwide, seven migratory bird species have been confirmed or are suspected to have become extinct over the last 150 years.
“Migratory birds are sentinels, and their declines reveal growing pressure on the natural systems that sustain us. But the science is equally clear: conservation works, with coordinated action preventing extinctions and helping populations recover. The solutions exist: what is needed now is their implementation at flyway scale.”
Stuart Butchart, Chief Scientist at BirdLife International, via The Guardian
Financial Commitments and the Nairobi Flyways Declaration
To address these systemic pressures, governments, scientists, conservation groups, and financial institutions gathered in Nairobi, Kenya, to adopt the Nairobi Flyways Declaration. The agreement commits international participants to increase efforts to protect migratory birds along their traditional migration corridors.
The declaration is backed by substantial financial frameworks. Three development banks have integrated flyway conservation into their lending operations, providing $6 billion in total commitments for habitat protection and restoration.
- The World Bank and BirdLife have pledged several billion dollars to support flyways across Africa, Europe, and Asia utilized by more than 2 billion birds.
Targeted Restoration Efforts and What Lies Ahead
Despite the severe pressures documented in the report, targeted conservation initiatives demonstrate that recovery is possible when managed across national borders. In China, a countrywide program to remove smooth cordgrass—which was introduced in 1979 to stabilize coastal mudflats—has successfully restored 37,553 hectares, or half the total area, in its first year. In Britain, wetland restoration at Wallasea Island has drawn peaks of more than 32,000 waterbirds.
Princess Takamado of Japan, the honorary president of BirdLife International, emphasized the borderless nature of the challenge during the summit. Migratory birds do not recognise borders
, she noted, highlighting that international cooperation remains essential for keeping populations safe.
With progress toward biodiversity targets adopted by 196 countries for 2030 described in the assessment as far too slow
, the summit’s participants face the immediate task of translating multi-billion-dollar financing pledges into enforceable, flyway-scale habitat protections before further species slip into extinction.
