Russia, China and Iran join forces to save Siberian crane
One of the world’s most critically endangered birds, the Siberian crane, appears to be making a comeback thanks to international efforts in China, Russia, Iran and Kazakhstan to create “flyways” for the spectacular species.
Experts believe there could be as few as 3,000 of the birds left but Claire Mirande of the United Nations-backed Siberian Crane Wetland Project said that efforts in the past decade to protect wetlands along the cranes’ epic migratory route had boosted their chances of survival.
The birds travel more than 5,000 kilometres each year from their breeding grounds in northern Siberia to spend the winter in Iran and Kazakhstan, crossing some of the world’s tallest mountain ranges and most arid deserts.
The birds depend on wetlands for respite as they travel but in recent years large areas have been drained for farming. Now the four countries which the birds cross are cooperating to create designated “flyways” under which the wetlands are being conserved and restored.
Achim Steiner of the United Nations Environment Programme said that the preservation of wetlands would benefit human communities too.
“The Siberian Cranes need the wetlands to rest and to feed. But communities and countries need wetlands too. Not only are they important suppliers and purifiers of drinking water and productive fisheries, but they play a significant role in flood defence and combating climate change,” said Steiner. “Indeed, by some estimates wetlands may be storing between 10 per cent and 20 per cent of all land-based carbon.”
The plight of the Siberian crane reflects a greater threat to other migratory bird groups with 40 percent of all waterbird populations worldwide in decline.