Archive · 11 Oct 2026
New Digital Hub Pools Central Asian Flyway Bird Data
A new website brings together information about birds that travel along the Central Asian Flyway.
These birds cross many countries during their journeys.
People can use the website to report birds hurt by power lines, wind turbines and other structures.
They can also record where they see birds wearing rings or other markers.
Those sightings can help show which places birds visit on their travels.
The site also has stories and learning materials for children.
India has had a conservation plan for these birds and their habitats since 2018.
The network hopes people in different places will share information to help protect the birds.
The Central Asian Conservation Network launched a website bringing together migration data, conservation projects, flyway sites and educational materials.
Its portals collect reports of bird collisions with infrastructure and sightings of birds marked with rings, flags or bands.
The Central Asian Flyway spans about 30 countries; the network says more than 600 bird species use it.
India’s five-year national action plan for the flyway ran from 2018 and prioritized 20 bird species.
The hub was developed with support from WWF Hong Kong and the Ornithological Society of the Middle East.
- Who
- The Central Asian Conservation Network (CACN) launched the hub, with support from WWF Hong Kong and the Ornithological Society of the Middle East.
- What
- A digital platform that gathers information on migratory birds, flyway sites, conservation projects and learning materials, with portals for collision reports and marked-bird sightings.
- When
- The article reports the launch; no launch date is specified. India’s national action plan ran for five years from 2018.
- Where
- Online at cafnetwork.org, covering the Central Asian Flyway across North, Central and South Asia and the Trans-Caucasus.
- Why
- To bring scattered data together, make regional conservation issues more visible and support cross-border sharing of information.
Earlier integration proposal
Framework under CMS
Institutional arrangement for the flyway
Earlier integration proposal
At a 2012 meeting, range states declared a preference for incorporating the flyway into the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement.
Framework under CMS
In 2020, CMS parties mandated a framework under CMS itself; the Initiative for the Central Asian Flyway was established in 2024 under Resolution 14.13.
Overhead power lines in bustard habitat
Earlier integration proposal
In 2021, the Supreme Court restricted new overhead transmission lines across about 99,000 square kilometres of Rajasthan and Gujarat and ordered lines in bustard habitat underground.
Framework under CMS
In March 2024, the Court found a blanket direction unworkable, modified the order and left case-by-case assessments to a committee.
- Platform
- Central Asian Flyway Digital Hub
- Website
- cafnetwork.org
- Core portals
- Bird Collision Reporting Portal and Ringing and Resighting Portal
- Flyway reach
- About 30 countries, according to the Convention on Migratory Species description cited in the article
- Bird species
- CACN says more than 600 species use the flyway; CMS counts 587 species listed in its Appendices I and II
- Development support
- WWF Hong Kong and the Ornithological Society of the Middle East
- India plan
- A five-year national action plan began in 2018 and prioritized 20 species