World Bank and BirdLife International launch historic conservation push
The latest Global Flyway Initiative aims to save critical bird habitats and link three continents across the African-Eurasian Flyway
The World Bank and BirdLife International have joined forces to scale-up conservation of the African-Eurasian Flyway (AEF). This extraordinary Global Flyway is a critical migratory route linking cultures, landscapes and people across the great continents of Africa, Europe and Asia.
Stretching from the Arctic tundra to the very tip of southern Africa, this flyway is used by more than 2 billion migratory birds and supports more than 500 avian species. Along this incredible migratory superhighway, countless sites act as critical resting places, stopovers, feeding grounds and nesting locations for birds that are also vital for people.
Header image: Lesser Flamingos in the wetlands surrounding Lake Natron, Tanzania
© Danica Delimont/Shutterstock
Conserving these sites is essential in maintaining the health of the flyway, birds and people. For example, Tanzania’s Lake Natron is the only breeding site for Lesser Flamingo in East Africa, supports a wealth of birds and provides for local livestock and farming. Our Partner Nature Tanzania recently quashed plans for Soda Ash mining that would have devastated the site. A healthy lake Natron and its bird populations attract tourists, birders and researchers, feeding revenues back into water infrastructure, health centres and schools for local communities.
Inking an MoU to establish the African Eurasian Flyway Initiative (AEFI) at World Bank headquarters today, Juergen Voegele, the World Bank’s Vice President of Planet, said: “Migratory birds provide essential ecosystem services and hold significant economic and cultural value. But their populations are rapidly declining. The conservation and the protection of the habitats of migratory birds drive significant economic opportunities. Birdwatching alone is projected to become a $95.2 billion global industry by 2030.”
Martin Harper, BirdLife’s CEO, said, “This initiative draws on BirdLife’s experience across the world’s other Global Flyways to step-up integrated conservation and restoration of critical sites across continents and national borders. We have applied cutting-edge science for more than 100 years, giving us the latest data on priority species and the sites that need protection along their migration routes. In the African-Eurasian Flyway, we’ve built a strategic network of more than 50 national partners implementing integrated conservation measures for nature, birds and people. Using birds as our compass, we unite conservation across borders, all over the world, to protect flyways from beginning to end. Migratory birds’ plight is the planet’s plight.”
Mirroring the way migratory birds link people, places, cultures and continents, the initiative aims to leverage the strengths of these two global institutions to implement innovative, visionary and transformative solutions to the global biodiversity and climate crisis. The work will be focused through the lens of one of the great natural and inspiring phenomena of the world: bird migration over inter-continental journeys.
With its graceful flight and noble presence, a hero species of the African-Eurasian flyway is the White Stork, which features prominently in Indigenous and local narratives. It holds a special place in folklore as the iconic bearer of newborn babies to expecting parents, symbolising joy and new beginnings. Additionally, the presence of a stork’s nest atop a house was traditionally believed to offer protection against fires, adding to its revered status as a bringer of good fortune.
A White Stork’s average migration can take six weeks or so, flying up to 20,000km. They travel in flocks, sometimes exceeding 10,000 individuals, travelling from southern Africa across the Sahara and into northern Europe. The species is now breeding again in the British Isles, after more than 600 years!
The partnership between BirdLife and the World Bank hopes to mobilise several billion dollars over the coming decade. These funds will kick-start mainstreaming the conservation, restoration, and sustainable management of migratory birds and their habitats in the African-Eurasian Flyway. This approach mirrors the work of BirdLife’s Global Flyways programme and initiatives across the world’s avian migratory routes. It is another important step in realising our vision to connect conservation across the world’s terrestrial and marine flyways, in the run up to our Global Flyways Summit, held in Nairobi, Kenya in September 2026.
“We know that with the right design, infrastructure investments can be made both efficient and reliable, as well as bird-friendly. These win-win options are at the core of the African-Eurasian Flyway Initiative. Working with BirdLife and our clients, the Bank will support development that is good for both people and nature.”
Juergen Voegele, the World Bank’s Vice President of Planet
“BirdLife’s Global Flyways Programme also includes initiatives for the East Asian Australasian Flyway (EAAF) with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the EAAF Partnership; the Central Asian Flyway, and the Americas Flyways Initiative with our US Partner Audubon and the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF). The BirdLife Partnership with its 123 Partners in 119 countries have got the planet covered in one of conservation’s most integrated and innovative set of initiatives. .”
MARTIN HARPER, CEO OF BIRDLIFE INTERNATIONAL
BirdLife International is grateful for the support of the Ecological Restoration Fund in backing its vision for transforming migratory bird conservation in the African-Eurasian Flyway.
BirdLife and the World Bank will hold a global webinar showcasing the AEFI on 4th November 2025 at 17:00 GMT/12:00 EDT, featuring Juergen Voegele, Martin Harper and others involved in implementing the initiative.
