Mai Po - News Archive

LATEST NEWS ON BIRDS

In 1996, Wetlands International - Asia Pacific formed a Migratory Waterbird Conservation Committee (MWCC; http://www.wetlands.org/IWC/awc/waterbirdstrategy/Org.htm) to oversee the conservation of migratory waterbirds and their wetland habitats in the Asia-Pacific region. Members on the MWCC include representatives of government and NGOs from the region, as well as from international conventions, such as the Convention on Migratory Species and the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar Convention).

One of the duties of the MWCC is to oversee the implementation of an Asia - Pacific Migratory Waterbird Conservation Strategy (http://www.wetlands.org/IWC/awc/waterbirdstrategy/Strat.htm) which is updated every five years.

Three specialist groups have been established under the umbrella of this Strategy, each focusing on the conservation of a particular group of migratory waterbird. These are
the Anatidae Working Group (http://www.jawgp.org/anet/), Crane Working Group (http://www.wetlands.org/IWC/awc/waterbirdstrategy/Network_Crane.htm), and the Shorebird Working Group (http://www.deh.gov.au/water/wetlands/mwp/infosrn1.html).

The Shorebird Working Group aims to promote the conservation of migratory shorebirds and their wetland habitats in the East Asian - Australasian Flyway (EAAF), and has members representing countries from different parts of the flyway, as well as having different skills, such as in shorebird survey and banding, and site management. The EAAF extends from the breeding grounds of many of these migratory shorebirds from as far north as the Russian Far East and Alaska, to their non-breeding grounds as far south as Australia and New Zealand.

It is estimated that whilst some 7 million shorebirds from 95 species are found in this flyway, only about 48 species (5 million birds) are long-distant migrants. Due to threats, such as from hunting and deterioration or loss of their wetland habitats, some 19 species of these shorebirds are now considered as being threatened.

From 16 - 17 December 2003, the Shorebird Working Group held their 7th meeting in Australia, to promote actions for their conservation of these waterbirds. These actions included;

• Establishing, and extending a network of well-managed sites along the EAAF that are important for migratory shorebirds. Mai Po and Inner Deep Bay is already one of these 'Shorebird Network Sites'.
• The formation of a 'Spoon-billed Sandpiper Recovery Team' to coordinate and promote action for the conservation of the endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper, whose known breeding population in the Russian Far East is estimated to be between 300 - 500 pairs only. One of the first tasks of the Recovery Team will be to organize surveys of the main non-breeding grounds for this shorebird in the Bay of Bengal (Bangladesh), which has previously not been surveyed extensively.
• The formation of a 'Dunlin Task Force' to promote awareness and conservation of shorebirds in general but of the Dunlin in particular. As part of this work, the Task Force will be organizing a survey of the Lower Yangtze River in January 2004 for Dunlin and other shorebirds that may be spending the non-breeding season there.
• Continue work to raise awareness and ensure the wise use of the coastal wetlands around the Yellow Sea, since this region is probably the most important for providing staging posts for migratory shorebirds in the EAAF. Of the estimated 5 million shorebirds in the EAAF, 40% are thought to use the coastal wetlands around the Yellow Sea during northward migration, and 20% during southward migration. However, some 40% of these wetlands have already been reclaimed in recent decades, and there is concern that 40% of the remaining wetlands may be reclaimed in the future.
• Promote the greater use of colour-flags in the flyway to study the migratory routes of these shorebirds.

Further details about the work of the Shorebird Working Group or of the other species groups of the MWCC, can be found in the web-links given above.

East Asian - Australasian Flyway