Several species of vultures, including four that have India on their migratory routes, were awarded the highest protection by the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals also known as Bonn Convention.
The whale shark, which inhabits the Indian Ocean, got global protection too. However, the proposal to extend additional protection to the chinkara or Indian gazelle was withdrawn, the summit’s organisers said.
Delegates from 91 countries had attended the summit, the next edition of which will be held in India in 2020.
The Asian vultures that are set to get collaborative international protection are the red-headed vulture, white-rumped vulture, Indian vulture and slender-billed vulture.
They are faced with threats such as poisoning, hunting, collision with electricity cables and habitat degradation.
A subspecies of the black noddy, the yellow bunting and the lesser and great grey shrike are the other avians on the protected list.
The Caspian seal has also been identified for conservation. It is the only marine mammal found in the world’s largest inland sea, where its migration is prompted by ice formation and foraging.
Governments also agreed to cooperate on reducing the negative impact of marine debris, noise pollution, renewable energy and climate change on the lives of migratory species.
Lions, chimpanzees, giraffes and leopards were marked out as species that needed additional protection.
More than 120 states are party to the Convention, but this does not include China and many other Asian countries.
The summit held in Manila has been the largest in the 38-year history of the Convention, which is also known as the Bonn Convention after the German city in which it was signed
