Chief Executive Officer of BirdLife International, Martin Harper, has raised concerns that more than 40% of bird species worldwide are now in decline.

He noted that the signals coming from the great migratory routes were hard to ignore.

Migratory birds play an important role in the ecosystem; they carry nutrients across oceans, pollinate plants, spread seeds, and help keep crops growing and diseases in check.

The World Migratory Bird Day is observed within the months of May and October yearly and matches the peaks of migration in each hemisphere, and serves as an opportunity to invite communities to take part in one of nature’s greatest shared stories.

In May, species along routes such as the African–Eurasian Flyway leave the warmth of Africa and travel north to nest.

Harper, in a statement, said protecting the major migratory highways of the world was the sure way to reverse those declines, adding that when the declines are reversed, people gain through cleaner water, food security, flood protection and more resilience to a changing climate.

The foundation said the day is a chance to better understand the broader impact of birds’ natural migration routes, known as global flyways.

“Birds use these routes as they travel between breeding grounds, feeding areas and seasonal refuges. Around the world, they follow four major flyways on land: the African–Eurasian, East Asian–Australasian, Americas and Central Asian.

They also follow six marine flyways. These pathways stretch across borders and oceans, joining habitats that lie thousands of kilometres apart. When one link in a flyway is broken, a wetland is drained or a coastline degraded, whole species can decline. Some can vanish for good, as the recent extinction of the Slender-billed Curlew reminds us,” the foundation said.

The Executive Director of Nature Kenya, Dr Paul Matiku, said Africa had a central role to play in keeping the shared routes alive, stressing that the continent was at the heart of some of the world’s great flyways.

Co-hosted by BirdLife International and Nature Kenya, the Global Flyways Summit will bring together leaders from science, policy, finance, business and civil society who will agree on the action needed to protect migratory birds and the ecosystems they depend on.

BirdLife scientists will also launch the new edition of the State of the World’s Birds report, with a focus on flyways. It offers the latest picture of bird populations and what they reveal about the wider health of nature.