Conservationists and wildlife experts have called for urgent, coordinated efforts to protect rapidly declining bustard populations, citing threats from hunting, habitat destruction, and climate change.
\nThe appeal was made during a workshop on Monday at the Multi-species Action Plan (MsAP) for Bustard Conservation, organized by WWF-Pakistan and Bustards Without Borders (BWB) at a local hotel here.
\nThe workshop highlighted that bustards\u2014migratory birds traversing Central Asia, the Middle East, and South Asia\u2014are facing severe population declines due to illegal hunting and poaching, habitat degradation, and climate change disruptions.
\nThe proposed Multi-species Action Plan (MsAP), set for adoption at CMS COP15 in 2026, outlines priority conservation measures to safeguard these species across their migratory routes.
\nSyed Ghulam Qadir Shah, Member (Coordination) of the Pakistan Climate Change Authority (PCCA), emphasized that bustards are ecological indicators. \u201cTheir decline signals ecosystem imbalance. Conserving them means protecting biodiversity that sustains all life,\u201d he stated.
\nDr. Mimi Kessler, Co-Chair of the IUCN Bustards Specialist Group, stressed that evidence-based strategies are critical. \u201cWe must invest in research to understand threats and implement effective conservation,\u201dshe said.
\nRab Nawaz, Senior Director at WWF-Pakistan, warned that bustards symbolize ecosystem health, and their loss threatens natural heritage.
\n\u201cThe MsAP provides a framework for coordinated, cross-border action,\u201d he added.
\nDr. Rainer Raab of Bustards Without Borders called for united global efforts, while Eva Fejes from Hungary\u2019s Ministry of Agriculture highlighted Hungary\u2019s role in sharing conservation expertise.
\nFollowing the workshop, a four-day field trip to Cholistan, Punjab will allow experts to assess habitat conditions, discuss conservation, and develop actionable strategies.
\n \u201cSaving bustards requires immediate, science-backed, and unified efforts,\u201d concluded workshop participants.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Conservationists and wildlife experts have called for urgent, coordinated efforts to protect rapidly declining bustard populations, citing threats from hunting, habitat destruction, and climate change. The appeal was made during a workshop on Monday at the Multi-species Action Plan (MsAP) for Bustard Conservation, organized by WWF-Pakistan and Bustards Without Borders (BWB) at a local hotel …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":79631,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79619"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79619\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79633,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79619\/revisions\/79633"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}