Conservation Work in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway

Migratory shorebirds in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway are in serious trouble. Of the known 54 species, 7 are already classified as of global conservation concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and another 9 under review. The heart of the problem is the major loss of coastal habitats required by these shorebirds to complete their epic migrations, but climate change, intensification of aquaculture practices and human disturbance are causal factors too.

To tackle the crisis, WWF-Hong Kong is spearheading a regional project to help conserve priority shorebird species. The project involves the participation of shorebird experts, government representatives, researchers and seeks to work alongside and synergize with regional initiatives and relevant conventions.

Click here to download the project overview. For further information, please email us.

The Asian Waterbird Conservation Fund was established to provide financial support to projects on the ground in Asia that will lead to the conservation or protection of migratory waterbirds and their wetland habitats in the East Asian – Australasian Flyway, particularly through partnership with the local community at the site. Each year WWF makes a single call for applications to the Fund with the deadline of 31 October.

• Click here to know how to apply for the Fund .
• Click here to download the application form.
• Click here for Annual Reports and see what projects we have supported.

Generous sponsorship from HSBC, which includes five years of funding (2006-2011), enables WWF to deliver projects in the Zhangjiang Estuary Nature Reserve in Fujian and the Haifeng Nature Reserve in Guangdong Province. The work on management of habitats, participation by local communities and education on sustainable development in these reserves establish good models for other wetlands sites in mainland China to follow.

Waterbird migration is not only an incredible wildlife phenomenon but an essential ecological process vital to the long-term survival of this group of birds. Understanding this complex process is a challenging task for conservation scientists whom employ a number of techniques to track and re-sight waterbirds as they move between breeding and wintering grounds.

In Hong Kong, the Mai Po Nature Reserve is a station for locally-based researchers to conduct studies on migratory waterbirds that use the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. Collectively these studies contribute to the formulation of a flyway-wide conservation strategy.

Duck Satellite Tracking
Funded by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the Satellite Tracking Project is a collaborative effort to study wild duck migration from Hong Kong, and gain insight into the ecology and epidemiology of avian diseases.

Freshwater ponds near the Mai Po Education Centre attract ducks by the hundreds. The fitting of some with satellite transmitters allows their journeys to be tracked over thousands of kilometres.

Click here to read about the project
Click here to view the current locations and migration paths of the tagged ducks. You can view the tracking by installing Google Earth on your home computer.

Shorebird Ringing
WWF-Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Bird Ringing Group have collaborated for over 30 years to carry out migratory shorebird ringing at the Mai Po Nature Reserve. Most studies involve the fitting of leg-markers onto shorebirds so that their migration can be monitored upon recapture or re-sighting.

Since the adoption of combination colour leg-flags in 2001, more than 1,000 shorebirds have been marked with the Hong Kong combination colours and re-sightings of Hong Kong shorebirds are received annually from other countries.

Click here to read more.