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This article is part of our Spring Alive programme, which aims to inspire and educate children across Africa and Eurasia about the wonders of nature and bird migration. The 2022 Spring Alive season has been made possible with the continuing support of HeidelbergCement

As well as our usual programme of lessons, workshops and activities, Spring Alive is kicking off 2022 with a brand new website, which will provide an updated platform for activities, teaching resources and news. The public will also be able to log their sightings of the seven Spring Alive focal species on our interactive map, which will record the birds’ progress in real time as they migrate from country to country. It’s always fun to put yourself on the map, but citizen science initiatives such as these are not just enjoyable – they also play an important role in scientific research and public engagement. Here’s everything you need to know about citizen science and how you can take part.

What is citizen science?

Put simply, citizen science is scientific research conducted by people who are not professional scientists. Some of the biggest discoveries in the world have been made by people without official scientific qualifications or funding. For example, the planet Uranus was discovered in 1781 by amateur astronomist William Herschel, who built his own telescope and earned a living as a musician. Even the famous naturalist Charles Darwin, who came up with the theory of evolution, originally trained as a doctor.

Anyone can be a citizen scientist. Community volunteers are especially useful in big projects where scientists need to gather information from across the whole country, or even the whole world. In these situations, there are not enough qualified scientists to carry out this research all by themselves, so the help of the general public is vital.

Citizen scientists don’t have to be experts. Often, the tasks are quite simple – for example photographing plants or spotting birds in the garden. With more complex tasks, volunteeers will be given training on exactly what to do. Then they will send their observations back to the scientists running the project, who put them all together and study the results.

How does citizen science help birds?

Birds can be found in almost every part of the world and often migrate vast distances. Citizen science can help us keep track of bird numbers and how they are changing around the globe. With this information, we can identify species and habitats that are under threat, and act to help them. For example, the volunteer bird counters of the Pan European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme helped to discover that Europe has lost around 600 million breeding birds in the last 40 years, in large part due to intensive farming. Meanwhile, citizens across the world use the Natura Alert mobile phone app to report any dangers that are threatening their local Important Bird & Biodiversity Areas, prompting conservation groups to take action.

In 2020, India was able to release its first ever full report on the state of the country’s birds thanks to the contributions of over 15,000 birdwatchers via the eBird app © Nicolas Mirguet / Flickr

Birds are also found in remote areas that are difficult for scientists to access. Local people can help here, too. In 2021, two friends were out gathering materials in the Borneo rainforest when they came across an unfamiliar bird species. After sending a photograph to their local birdwatching group, they learned that they had rediscovered the Black-browed Babbler – a species lost for 172 years and feared extinct.

Another way that citizen science helps birds is by encouraging people to love and respect nature. Spending time watching and learning about birds makes people more likely to protect them. This idea has been around for centuries: in 1900 ornithologist Framk M. Chapman launched the ongoing Audubon Christmas Bird Count in the USA to replace the traditional Christmas bird hunting contest that killed thousands of birds a year. In Cyprus, where bird hunting is still ingrained in the local culture, our partner BirdLife Cyprus released a children’s bird guide, What’s that bird?, to inspire a new generation of nature lovers.

How can I get involved?

There are lots of different citizen science projects to choose from. One fun way for young people to get involved is to enter sightings of the Spring Alive species on our website. This will help us to keep track of the birds’ migrations as the waves of species move across the map.

Get in touch with your national Spring Alive Partner to learn about citizen science projects in your country, or if you’re looking for something more global, download the eBird mobile app, where you can log your bird sightings wherever you are in the world. If you just want a taster, consider signing up to a one-off bird count event such as Global Big Day, Global Bird Weekend or EuroBirdwatch. Outside of these, if you see any unusual wildlife or spot threats to nature, you can always report them directly to your local conservation group.

When taking part in a citizen science project, follow the guidelines carefully and try not to disturb wildlife. Unless instructed otherwise, try to stay local or use eco-friendly modes of transport to reduce fuel emissions. Always make sure the information you enter is accurate – for example, by consulting a bird guide – and ask the organisers if you’re unsure about anything. This will ensure that your observations are as useful and scientific as possible, and can help us to direct conservation action where it’s most needed.


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Lying in the shadow of the Andes to the west, the dry ecosystem of the Gran Chaco stretches from Argentina into south-eastern Bolivia, Paraguay and south-western Brazil. Twice the size of France, it is large enough to influence weather patterns affecting the adjacent Pantanal wetlands and Brazil’s Cerrado grasslands.

The largely dry forest and savannah region, interspersed with fresh and saline lagoons, supports a diversity of species adapted to the rigors and extremes of this complex region. It is not uncommon to come across Jaguars, Giant Armadillos, Giant Anteaters, flocks of Chilean Flamingos and a range of endemic bird species. Just a few examples include Quebracho Crested-tinamou, Chaco Chachalaca, Black-legged Seriema, Spot-winged Falconet, Great Rufous Woodcreeper and Many-colored Chaco-finch.

In addition to the important geographical characteristics of the Gran Chaco, its social and cultural diversity is unique. The region’s human presence dates back approximately 7,000 years. Indigenous peoples, including groups of nomadic hunter-gatherers, fishermen and sedentary farming communities, have developed a culture closely linked to the region’s natural resources. Today, the Chaco is represented by a fusion of cultures and ethnic groups reflecting recent waves of European migrants who arrived in the 18th and 19th centuries, attracted to the region’s fertile lands.

Over the last few decades, the Gran Chaco has undergone a drastic transformation. According to World Wide Fund for Nature in 2020, it had one of the highest deforestation rates globally, driven mainly by genetically modified soy production and large-scale cattle ranching. So far, most efforts to control the rate of loss have been unsuccessful, although deforestation rates are slowing in some areas. The fragmentation of the landscape is placing enormous pressures on communities – local and indigenous – with droughts, fire and flooding increasing across the landscape.

Vital for migrants

Recent studies of migratory species reveal that the Gran Chaco is also an important wintering area for a suite of migratory birds that breed in the Arctic, temperate North America and the Neotropics, including shorebirds and several species of songbirds and raptors whose populations have been declining across their ranges.

While past studies revealed the Gran Chaco’s general importance for some of these migratory species, limited data on their movements and habitat use make it difficult to determine preferred habitats and associated threats. A recent study on Yellow-billed Cuckoo is beginning to change all of this.

Yellow-billed Cuckoo is a migratory species that manages to stay well hidden in deciduous woodlands. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s description, they usually sit stock still, even hunching their shoulders to conceal their crisp white underparts, as they hunt for large caterpillars. Bold white spots on the tail’s underside are often the most visible feature on a shaded perch. This species has one of the shortest nest cycles of any bird – a mere 17 days from incubation to fledgling. In eastern North America, cuckoos are still relatively common, but western populations have plummeted and are candidates for federal Endangered status in the US (fewer than 500 individuals). In the west they are already listed as federally threatened.

By Ian Davidson

Above: the Silk Floss Tree, known as Palo borracho (literally ‘drunken stick’ in Spanish), is an emblematic species of the Chaco. It is resistant to drought and stores water in its bulging, tilted trunk © Cindy Galeano / Guyra Paraguay

A Yellow-billed Cuckoo wearing a satellite tracking device ©Calandra Stanley / Georgetown University and Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute Migratory Bird Center.

The two breeding populations converge in the western Amazon basin during their southward migration, before assembling in the Gran Chaco. It is estimated that they may spend upwards of five or six months there in separate groups, with the eastern population occupying northern areas and the western population the central-western region. While in the Gran Chaco, Yellow-billed Cuckoos mix with native and resident cuckoo species, including Guira Cuckoo (guira meaning ‘bird’ in Guarani; similar to the name of the BirdLife Partner, Guyra Paraguay).

Through the auspices of Georgetown University in the US, researchers are trying to determine geographic linkages of migratory species between different stages of their annual cycles, including between breeding, migration and non-breeding stages. Previously, our inability to make these connections has been a major impediment to understanding population declines in migratory birds.

However, recent tracking data suggest that Yellow-billed Cuckoos make multiple long-distance movements throughout the wintering period and occupy a diversity of habitats. The information gathered from tracking Yellow-billed Cuckoo provides critical information for better understanding of what is driving the species’ decline. With this information, conservation practitioners will be better positioned to take effective conservation action for the species.

Conservation in action

Since its formation in 1997, Guyra Paraguay has been at the forefront of conservation in the Gran Chaco. Dedicated to conserving and promoting the sustainable use of biodiversity in Paraguay, it has worked with a range of important stakeholders, actively promoting the region’s protection.

“The good news is that the protected areas in the Paraguayan Chaco are still fairly well connected, allowing for wildlife to range across this vast landscape from one reserve to another,” said Rodrigo Zarate, Head of Conservation for Guyra Paraguay. “But we must act now to ensure that private landholders and communities are incentivised to leave their forests standing.”

“We must act now to ensure that private landholders and communities are incentivised to leave their forests standing.”

Rodrigo Zarate, Head of Conservation, Guyra Paraguay

A road has been cleared through a formerly impenetrable section of Chaco dry forest, paving the way for further clearance for agriculture © Guyra Paraguay / BirdLife International

As part of its efforts in the landscape, and with the support of the World Land Trust and others, Guyra Paraguay purchased properties in the Gran Chaco to create three private reserves – Reserva Cañada El Carmen, Reserva Campo Iris and Reserva Pantanal Paraguayo. With an extension of almost 21,000 hectares, these reserves provide refuge for a diversity of resident and endemic Chaco species.

Recognising the cuckoo’s eye-catching features and relative abundance in the Gran Chaco at certain times of the year, Guyra Paraguay set out to raise awareness of the forest’s national and international importance for migratory species. With funds from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service through the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act, Guyra Paraguay brought the plight of the cuckoo and its need for intact Gran Chaco forest to the attention of local communities working adjacent to their private reserves.

The fate of the Gran Chaco’s birds and wildlife will depend on finding creative approaches to sustainable development in the region, and making sure these models are compatible with the natural environment. In certain areas, climate change is expected to increase the frequency and intensity of drought, putting the agricultural economies of the region at risk. Guyra Paraguay now aims to begin working with local government and private landholders to maintain and restore native vegetation in key watersheds and natural lagoons. This will protect key habitat for wildlife, while ensuring the long-term provisioning of fresh water for people.

While conservation efforts in the Gran Chaco continue, National Audubon and the American Bird Conservancy (BirdLife Partners in the United States) are working to safeguard the breeding habitat of cuckoos, including the threatened western population, whose preferred riverside breeding areas have given way to farms and housing. Together, BirdLife Partners along the flyway are aiming to protect this global heritage for the benefit of birds and people.


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Evgeny Syroechkovskiy was Chief Executive of Birds Russia and also represented the Russian Federation in a number of capacities, including as Deputy Director of the All-Russian Research Institute of Environmental Protection, at international meetings of key importance to the conservation of wetlands and migratory birds in the East Asian- Australasian Flyway and beyond. In this capacity he played a leading role in championing the cause of flagship migratory species such as the Spoon-billed Sandpiper.

He was a rare example of someone able to comfortably bridge relations between governments, including leading the Russian delegation in the implementation of bilateral migratory bird agreements with China, Russia and Japan, and engagement with non-governmental organisations such as BirdLife International. BirdLife had the pleasure of working with Evgeny for over 20 years including through a Memorandum of Understanding between BirdLife and Birds Russia.

The Arctic Migratory Bird Initiative, which he chaired, was created from his vision, following his chairmanship between 2011 – 13, on behalf of Russia, of the Arctic Council’s working group on the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna. One of his key pieces of work was a shorebird atlas of the Arctic.

Above: Evgeny Syroechkovskiy was a leading light in conservation and will be very sorely missed. Photo © Nikolai Kutusov

As well as being a skilful operator and diplomat, Evgeny was often active in the field © Nikolai Kutusov

He will be best known to many as the indefatigable Chair of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task Force, which he was instrumental in setting up, with Christoph Zoeckler, a lifetime colleague and friend, as Coordinator. The task force has had a key and very effective role in advancing conservation commitments and action for this Critically Endangered species, holding it back from the doors of extinction.

As well as being a skilful operator and diplomat, he was often active in the field, leading field research in the Russian Arctic and in Myanmar, and for the head-starting project for Spoon-billed Sandpipers on the species’ Russian breeding grounds, in collaboration with the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, RSPB (BirdLife in the UK), and others.

But his legacy is much wider, championing issues to address the illegal killing of birds on the flyway, the conservation of geese, seabirds and Asian land birds (especially the Yellow-breasted Bunting), and the wider work of Birds Russia as an important conservation NGO. In short, he was a titan for conservation and will be very sorely missed. We owe it to Evgeny to continue the fight for the East Asian-Australasian Flyway and its highly threatened birds, especially ‘his’ Arctic-breeding migratory birds which are shared by the countries of the flyway.  BirdLife extends our heartfelt condolences to Evgeny’s family and close friends and colleagues.


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This article is part of our Spring Alive programme, which aims inspire and educate children across Africa and Eurasia about the wonders of nature and bird migration. The 2021 Spring Alive season has been made possible with the continuing support of HeidelbergCement

The 2021 Spring Alive season drew to a close in December. With COVID-19 restrictions lifted for many countries, our partners across Europe, central Asia and Africa were able to resume their usual programme of school lessons, outings and workshops. In the Autumn, we welcomed two brand new Spring Alive partners: Senegal and the Ivory Coast. The 2021 theme, “How should we protect bird nests?”, formed the focus of the activities throughout the year. 

Spring Alive’s messaging mainly focuses on seven migratory bird species that breed in Europe and spend the winter in Africa: the White Stork, Collared Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, Common Ringed Plover, Common Cuckoo, European Bee-eater and Common Swift. However, Africa is also home to many resident species that breed there all year round – so it is still important for our African partners to spread the word on how to protect birds’ nests. Here are just a few African species that can benefit from our action, with advice that can be applied to breeding birds anywhere in the world. Why not make it your New Year’s resolution to give your local birds a helping hand this year?

by Jessica Law

A White-faced Whistling Duck swims with its chicks © Dick Daniels

The White-faced Whistling-duck breeds all year round across sub-Saharan Africa. Because it nests on the ground, its eggs and chicks are particularly at risk from predators, trampling and disturbance. If you want to help it raise its young in peace, try to stay on the path when going for a walk in nature, and keep to areas intended for the public.

A Speckled Mousebird perches upon a branch © Dick Daniels

The Speckled Mousebird is a common ‘backyard bird’ across Africa, and can nest at any time of year. If you spot one building its nest in your garden, give it a helping hand by letting your bushes and trees grow. The foliage will provide safe shelter for the nest – and plenty of building materials!

A Little Swift peers out from its nest built in a gap in the roof © J.M. Garg

Little Swifts build their nests in cracks and crevices under roofs across Africa. But as buildings are repaired and modernised, the swifts are running out of homes. You can give them more real estate choices by putting up a nest box. Buy them ready-made or try your hand at making your own – there are plenty of great instructions online.

An African Pied Wagtail stands upon a mat of reeds in a flooded meadow © Diego Delso

October is peak breeding time for the African Pied Wagtail across sub-Saharan Africa. The species likes to build its cup-shaped nests near waterways such as flooded grasslands, rivers and marshes. However, many of Africa’s wetlands are being drained to make way for agriculture or buildings. By supporting nature conservation groups, you can help protect the most important habitats for breeding birds.

A Grey Go-away Bird looks out for predators © Derek Keats

The Grey Go-away Bird is named after its distinctive call, which really does sound like a person shouting “Go Away!” in English. When it comes to nesting, its call is particularly appropriate. If you get too close to nests, you could risk damaging them – even loud noise and disturbance could be enough to make parents abandon their nest. What’s more, you may be leaving a scent trail for predators to follow straight to an easy snack – so always keep your distance.

2022 will be an exciting year for Spring Alive. This spring, our new website will be launched, providing an updated platform for activities, teaching resources and news. The public will also be able to record their sightings of Spring Alive species on our interactive map as the birds migrate from country to country. This is particularly appropriate given the theme for this year, citizen science: a vital source of data that is becoming a growing force in bird science and conservation.


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The scene is a grim one: rangers wearing protective gear paddle out in a dinghy to the middle of Hula Lake, Israel, to start retrieving the dead Common Cranes scattered across the water. Their job is cut out for them: more than 5,000 cranes succumbed to the recent bird flu outbreak, which hit Israel in December 2021.

“The first signs of a massive event appeared in wild birds around 12-13 December,” says Yoav Perlman, director of SPNI (BirdLife in Israel). “The epicenter is in the Hula Valley. However, in recent weeks more and more cases have been found elsewhere in the country, with a higher ratio of non-cranes, including raptors such as Common Buzzards and Eurasian Kestrels.”

Israel’s Environment Minister Tamar Zandberg called the incident “the worst blow to wildlife” in Israel’s history – but the outbreak has also affected domesticated birds. Local farmers have had to cull half a million chickens, causing serious loss of income and even prompting fears of egg shortages. But what is this virus, and where did it come from?

There are numerous different strains of avian influenza, or ‘bird flu’. Most are benign, at worst causing only mild disease, and circulate in wild birds. Under the crowded conditions of intensive poultry rearing, however, some variants can evolve into “Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza” (HPAI) viruses, which can cause massive mortality in poultry. The strain H5N1 is of particular concern. It is primarily a poultry disease, but can impact wild birds too.

“H5N1 is responsible for the outbreak in Israel, and is similar to the strain that hit Barnacle Geese in Scotland recently,” explains Perlman. “From what I know, the first Avian Influenza cases in this outbreak in Israel were identified in poultry farms and only later in wild birds. However, with large-scale outbreaks across Europe just before Israel, one could speculate that wild birds migrating south from Asia and Europe carried the disease with them.”

When the scale of the problem was realised, the State of Israel declared it a national security crisis based on the risk to the poultry industry and to humans. So far, action has focused on disposing of bird carcasses and closely monitoring the spread of the epidemic. However, according to Perlman, it took the authorities far too long to spring into action, which may have increased infection rates in the Hula Valley.

“I think that 10 precious days were lost, maybe more. However, since the carcass removal process commenced second half of December  about 80% of carcasses have already been cleared,” he says. On a more positive note, SPNI is uniquely placed to offer their help. “We are using our network of birders – both staff and volunteers – to detect dead or dying birds, and report them promptly via a specialized system,” explains Perlman.

SPNI staff are also present on-site in Hula Valley, aiding the clean-up operations and advising the government as part of a national panel of experts. After the crisis is over, they will continue to advise on how to address and prevent future incidents, including whether to amend bird feeding practices at Hula Lake to prevent large numbers congregating and spreading disease.

Above: Hula Valley is important rest stop for the Common Crane on its migration south to Africa © Oren Valdman

“We are using our network of birders – both staff and volunteers – to detect dead or dying birds, and report them promptly via a specialized system.”

Yoav Perlman, director, SPNI (BirdLife in Israel)

Half a billion birds, including hundreds of thousands of Common Cranes, gather in high densities at Hula Valley during migration © Idobi

Alongside 27 European countries impacted by the outbreak, the UK is experiencing its largest ever outbreak of bird flu, which has led to 500,000 poultry and other domesticated birds being culled in recent months. Since the start of November, an avian influenza prevention zone had been declared across the country, requiring strict biosecurity measures and all captive and domesticated birds to be kept indoors.

One of the most notable wild casualties was a rare White-tailed Eagle found dead on the Isle of Skye – thought to be Scotland’s first ever case of avian flu detected in an eagle. Researchers believe the raptor may have fed on infected Greylag Geese.

In addition, Martin Fowlie of the RSPB (BirdLife in the UK) says: “We are very concerned about the large number of deaths of Barnacle Geese on the Solway Firth, Scotland. This number is now estimated to be in excess of 4,000 birds, with some estimates suggesting that between 15-20% of the Svalbard Barnacle Goose population has died.”

He adds: “The RSPB is following the government guidance on our reserves, implementing biosecurity measures to minimise the spread of disease. Surveillance and monitoring is crucial to not only help understand why this outbreak is so large, but also to look for potential population impacts on species severely affected. People finding numbers of dead wild birds should report them to the relevant government authorities.”

20% of the population of Barnacle Geese that breed in Svalbard, Norway could have been lost in the latest outbreak © Tom Phillips

We’ve seen the worrying impact that bird flu can have on wild birds, as well as the measures required by the poultry industry to ensure adequate biosecurity – but what is the risk to humans? Fortunately, so far it is relatively low. The virus has been known to jump from birds to humans in where there is extensive close contact, usually on poultry farms, with an infection reported in the UK last week from someone who had regular close contact with infected domesticated birds. However, it cannot spread from person to person, so is unlikely to cause a global pandemic like that driven by COVID-19.

 Globally, from January 2003 to 30 December 2021, there were 863 cases of human infection reported from 18 countries. Of these, 456 were fatal. But according to the World Health Organisation, despite this winter’s surge, “The overall pandemic risk associated with [H5N1] is considered not significantly changed in comparison to previous years.”

Nevertheless, citizens are advised to keep their distance from birds that look ill or distressed, and to thoroughly wash their hands after refilling garden bird baths and feeders. Regularly cleaning this equipment is also necessary to stop disease from spreading between birds. Furthermore, the UK’s Chief Vet Christine Middlemiss told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “If you keep chickens and you want to feed wild birds, you need to make sure that everything is completely scrupulously clean and absolutely separate so that you don’t take infection into your own birds and make them sick.”

Applying effective biosecurity in the poultry industry is the primary requirement to control H5N1 bird flu. However, in the last big outbreak of 2006, authorities in some parts of the world proposed attempting to control the spread of bird flu by culling wild birds, destroying their habitats, or displacing them from breeding and roosting grounds. Such measures are ineffective and could often make matters worse, as well as distracting from more suitable interventions. They also add to the stresses already imposed on many species by habitat loss.

“The main conservation concerns are around calls to cull wild birds, and blaming wild birds for the problem rather than ineffective biosecurity measures in the poultry industry,” says BirdLife’s Chief Scientist Stuart Butchart. “BirdLife Partners worldwide are monitoring the situation and continuing to advocate for the protection of wild birds.”

Read more about BirdLife’s position on avian influenza here

“The main conservation concerns are around calls to cull wild birds, and blaming wild birds for the problem rather than ineffective biosecurity measures in the poultry industry.”

Stuart Butchart, Chief Scientist, BirdLife International


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Ding Li Yong, Flyways Coordinator, BirdLife Asia

Not far from the bustling city of Seocheon, at the mouth of the Geum estuary in South Korea, is the relatively flat island of Yubu. Except for a small, hilly, wooded area, Yubu is surrounded by vast expanses of tidal flats. Each year, several thousand Eurasian Oystercatchers of the distinctive eastern form osculans congregate in a staggering spectacle on Yubu’s shore – perhaps more than at any other wetland in eastern Asia.

Crossing to the mainland at Seocheon, the ebbing of the tide exposes intertidal flats that stretch as far as the eye can see into the Yellow Sea (or West Sea as it is known in Korea). These support a sizeable percentage of the populations of two threatened shorebirds, Far Eastern Curlew and Great Knot (both Endangered), as well as a small but steady stream in migration times of two even rarer waders, Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Critically Endangered) and Spotted Greenshank (Endangered).

The estuary of the Geum River in Seocheon county, including Yubu island, is one of four coastal wetlands inscribed in July this year by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as a World Heritage Property. These sites also include well-known Suncheon Bay on the south coast, which hosts almost a third of the world population of Hooded Crane (Vulnerable), and the mudflats of Gochang and the Shinan archipelago.

The prestige that comes with UNESCO status not only embodies outstanding importance of a site for biodiversity, but also provides some of the best guarantees for good management and protection. UNESCO inscription of these four wetlands therefore marks an extremely significant milestone in the conservation of the critically important intertidal wetlands of the Yellow Sea, and confirms what the conservation community has been advocating for – that these wetlands are important at the international level.

The distinctive osculans form of Eurasian Oystercatcher is present in great numbers © Seocheon County

Tragic loss

Not that long ago, the wetlands of the Yellow Sea were far from secure. In 2006, South Korea took the controversial decision to dam and reclaim a vast area of estuarine intertidal flats at Saemangeum, about 20 km south of Yubu, to boost its ailing economy. At the time, Saemangeum was recognised as the top site in Korea for migratory shorebirds – it hosted almost 95,000 Great Knot, among hundreds of thousands of other waterbirds.

The tragic loss of Saemangeum displaced large numbers of migratory waterbirds and is believed to have hastened the decline of the Great Knot in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. Elsewhere in South Korea and in China’s provinces on the Yellow Sea, coastal wetlands were also increasingly being lost to aquaculture, development and the rapid expansion of infrastructure amid the region’s economic boom.

More than 30 per cent of South Korea’s intertidal flats were estimated to have disappeared between the 1980s and 2000s. And as more and more of Korea’s wetlands gave way to reclamation in the years of rapid economic growth, it became increasingly critical to preserve what remained of these coastal hotspots around the Yellow Sea.

A bittersweet image: Great Knots feeding at the former Saemangeum mudflats, now destroyed © GRID-Arendal / Flickr

Heart of the flyway

Straddling the eastern coast of China and the Korean Peninsula, the Yellow Sea is, after all, the beating heart of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. Many of the waterbirds migrating along the flyway depend on these critical wetlands to recuperate in one way or another, including virtually every threatened shorebird using this flyway.

Sitting on the north-eastern fringe of the Yellow Sea, South Korea’s wetlands form an integral part of this coastal ecosystem. Although not as well-known as some of the sites in China, these ecosystems are nevertheless comparable in importance for migratory birds as many of China’s sites, and ecologically they complement the Chinese wetlands.

In addition to being a vital staging ground for millions of waterbirds, South Korea’s Yellow Sea coast is also where several threatened species breed, notably the Black-faced Spoonbill (Endangered), Chinese Egret and Saunders’s Gull (both Vulnerable). Not to be forgotten is the population of Spotted Seal, designated by the Korean government as a Natural Monument by its Cultural Heritage Administration.

In 2015, the South Korean government made a bid for UNESCO recognition of several Yellow Sea wetland sites. The Korean World Heritage Promotion Team, led by Dr Moon Kyong-O, worked tirelessly to consult international stakeholders and lobby for support for the nominated sites. The team reached out to experts around the world, including BirdLife International, as well as our colleagues working in the Wadden Sea in western Europe – a UNESCO ‘coast-scape’ which parallels the Korean nomination in many ways.

Local people also benefit from the mudflats, earning a living from traditional clam-sifting © Seocheon County

The battle to protect

The road towards World Heritage Site inscription was not without setbacks. The nomination and consultation process raised many issues with the way wetland sites were to be managed and zoned, as well as questions on what made them outstanding for biodiversity at the international level. The coronavirus pandemic threw another spanner in the works, causing many conversations to be delayed. However, as the 44th Session of the World Heritage Committee loomed, the international community and Korean stakeholders were quickly galvanised into action.

The Korean World Heritage Promotion team convened a technical panel of experts to look into the biological value of the four nominated sites, especially their migratory birds, in order to demonstrate to the World Heritage Committee how the site would meet its criteria for outstanding universal value. Meanwhile, members of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP) were leading consultations with stakeholders and co-ordinating work to mobilise experts, bureaucrats, conservationists and local officials.

BirdLife International quickly got to work to assess data and how they met international criteria. The BirdLife Secretariat also worked hard with the EAAFP to mobilise the international conservation community for support. In total, 78 signatories were brought together, including representatives of no fewer than 33 BirdLife Partners.

The World Heritage inscription of the four South Korean sites as ‘Getbol, Korean tidal flats’ in July 2021 is a critical milestone in the work to protect these globally important wetlands. Beyond this, Getbol is also a matter of pride for South Korea, being its second natural property inscribed beside well-known Jeju Island. South Korea’s President Moon Jae-In noted that this proud moment did not happen overnight and was a result of the “wisdom and sacrifice” of many people and “desperate protection” – a testament to the work of the conservation community.

Dunlin (foreground), Great Knot (centre) and Bar-tailed Godwits (background) roost and feed in huge numbers on Korea’s tidal mudflats © Getbol World Heritage Promotion Team

Work goes on

However, the inscription of Getbol is only the beginning of a wider, encouraging effort by the three countries to secure the Yellow Sea’s wetlands. China is building momentum on its work to nominate more than 14 new wetland sites on its coast for World Heritage status. “The Korean Getbol inscription complements the Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of the Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China (Phase I) World Heritage Site listed in 2019,” said Doug Watkins, Chief Executive of EAAFP. “It will strengthen international collaboration, particularly in the vision of transboundary joint efforts with China and DPR Korea, to conserve the wetlands of the Yellow Sea region, an irreplaceable migration hub for migratory waterbirds shared by the 22 countries in the Flyway.”

While celebrating this success, South Korea is now moving to the second phase of its nomination of World Heritage sites, which in time will expand the protected wetland estate in the country, including the vast mudflats around Ganghwa.

Efforts for wetland and biodiversity conservation are also gathering momentum in North Korea, which joined the Ramsar Convention just two years ago, and is now stepping up efforts to document its migratory waterbirds and strengthen protection of its wetlands. A series of World Heritage Sites of critical wetlands surrounding the entire Yellow Sea appears to be an increasing possibility, mirroring similar efforts in Europe’s Wadden Sea.

Given the global importance of the wetlands in the Yellow Sea, it is critical now that this momentum for strengthening protection of these valuable intertidal flats is not lost. Above all, there is a rare window of opportunity for the three countries to work together to secure the future of a shared heritage of wetlands, migratory birds and the many ecosystem services that come alongside these fantastic habitats.

“It will strengthen international collaboration… to conserve the wetlands of the Yellow Sea region, an irreplaceable migration hub for migratory waterbirds shared by the 22 countries in the Flyway.”

Doug Watkins, Chief Executive, East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership

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Protect coastal wetlands for migratory birds

Coastal Wetlands are among the most threatened sites in the world. This year, thousands of birds will end up stranded in the middle of migration, with nowhere to eat or rest on their long journeys. Exhausted and starving, many of them will sadly die.


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It’s the legs that first catch the eye. They’re yellower than the name Spotted Greenshank Tringa guttifer might imply and an ideal length for loping through invertebrate-rich shallows in the upper Gulf of Thailand, on the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. Then its distinctively unusual upturned bill comes into view. BirdLife is now seeking to improve the future of this intriguing wader, through a Preventing Extinctions project supported by optics manufacturer Zeiss.

Spotted Greenshank is a worthy focus as it numbers “among the world’s most threatened shorebirds,” says Ding Li Yong, BirdLife’s Flyways Co-ordinator for Asia. Classified as Endangered, perhaps fewer than 1,500 remain. Worse, its population decline is ongoing, driven principally by habitat loss and degradation at unprotected sites. Such threats are especially worrisome given that Spotted Greenshank’s tightly confined distribution offers little safety net: it breeds solely in a small area neighbouring Russia’s remote coast where, fascinatingly, it builds its own nests (a unique behaviour among shorebirds) in larch trees.

After using a small number of staging posts on their migration southwards, all the world’s Spotted Greenshanks winter exclusively in Bangladesh and Southeast Asia. But even here the room for conservation manoeuvre is limited: “In winter, most of the known population appears largely concentrated in Thailand and Malaysia,” Yong explains. Specifically, “the varied wetlands of the inner Gulf of Thailand form the world’s most important wintering area,” says Thattaya Bidayabha of Bird Conservation Society of Thailand (BCST – BirdLife Partner). These may hold one-third of all Spotted Greenshanks, with two vital sites – Pak Thale Nature Reserve salt pans and Laem Phak Bia mudflats – hosting upwards of 100 individuals.

This pair of locations provides the fulcrum of a new BCST-led project, supported by BirdLife Asia. Building on five years of shorebird conservation efforts, including establishing a private nature reserve, BCST’s Khwankhao Sinhaseni explains that the organisation envisions “significantly strengthening local interest and engagement in Spotted Greenshank conservation in particular, plus shorebird conservation more widely.” This matters, Bidayabha adds, because “much of its habitat here remains unprotected.”

Spotted: the species’ unusual nesting behaviour photographed in 2019 in Russia © Philipp Maleko

A key, if challenging, aim involves forming new local conservation groups at one or more coastal wetlands. “They can be our guards,” Sinhaseni says, “to protect greenshanks and address threats they face,” such as illegal hunting using mist-nets. BCST will complement this by raising community awareness of the importance of ‘working wetlands’, such as salt pans, that benefit people and shorebirds alike. Plans include educational camps for children, a national shorebird photography competition and developing community-based enterprises such as selling salt-based spa products.

“We want local communities to be more aware of migratory shorebirds that connect us to other parts of Asia and need better protection,” Sinhaseni says. Overall, she concludes, BCST aspires to “build long-term collaborations, even extending beyond the project’s lifetime.”

BCST also aims to address knowledge gaps in greenshank distribution and ecology that impede its conservation in Southeast Asia. Even despite BCST’s recent extensive surveys, Bidayabha explains, “we know that wintering sites remain to be discovered along the Gulf of Thailand,” so a key objective involves tracking them all down.

Doing so will inform “a model for habitat management that helps greenshanks and other globally threatened waterbirds,” Sinhaseni explains. Beneficiaries will include the handful of Spoon-billed Sandpipers Calidris pygmaea (Critically Endangered) that winter here, plus large congregations of Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris (Endangered) and Painted Stork Mycteria leucocephala (Near Threatened), and smaller numbers of Far Eastern Curlew Numenius madagascariensis (Endangered), Chinese Egret Egretta eulophotes (Vulnerable) and Asian Dowitcher Limnodromus semipalmatus (Near Threatened).

“We want local communities to be more aware of migratory shorebirds that connect us to other parts of Asia and need better protection.”

Khwankhao Sinhaseni, Conservation Manager, Bird Conservation Society of Thailand

BCST researchers conducting surveys at Pak Thale © BCST

Meanwhile, by “strengthening the conservation of Southeast Asia’s coastal wetlands,” Yong says, project activities will also help deliver monitoring, conservation, capacity-building and outreach priorities in BirdLife’s East Asian-Australasian Flyway Conservation Strategy.

Such a raft of anticipated benefits understandably caught the attention of Zeiss, which has previously supported BirdLife work on Northern Bald Ibis Geronticus eremita (Endangered) in Morocco. “We are delighted to become a BirdLife Species Champion for Spotted Greenshank,” says Petra Kregelius-Schmidt, Zeiss. “Spotted Greenshank is another great example of a threatened migratory bird that needs urgent help, so we are pleased to support BirdLife’s vital research and conservation action to help protect it on its wintering grounds.”

On the muddy fringes of the Gulf of Thailand then, a classic BirdLife project is unfurling: one that focuses on a globally threatened bird, is led by a BirdLife Partner, supported by a committed Species Champion, underpinned by exciting field research, and is fully engaged with local communities as part of site-based conservation. The Spotted Greenshank’s fortunes, like its beak, are on the upturn.


If you’re interested in becoming a BirdLife Species Champion, please contact: [email protected]

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Protect coastal wetlands for migratory birds

Coastal Wetlands are among the most threatened sites in the world. This year, thousands of birds will end up stranded in the middle of migration, with nowhere to eat or rest on their long journeys. Exhausted and starving, many of them will sadly die.


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James Lowen

Imagine driving a car on a long-distance road trip. Your fuel tank starts full, but then runs low. No worries: you’ll refill at the next available gas station. Chugging towards those much-needed pumps, however, you find the station is closed. You must eke out the remaining fuel for another few hours. And if the tank runs dry, your journey is over.

Welcome to the life of a Far Eastern Curlew (Endangered), the world’s largest shorebird. The survival of this leggy, dramatically long-billed migratory marvel depends on an unbroken chain of wetland ‘service stations’ lining the coasts of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway – yet it increasingly encounters concrete wastelands where food-rich mudflats used to be. Its population has crashed by 81% in three decades.

To the untrained human eye – or that of an entrepreneurial developer – habitats such as tidal mudflats and salt marshes may seem featureless, devoid of life and ripe for reclamation. To millions of waterbirds worldwide, however, they are vital feeding stations – filled with energy-packed molluscs and worms, plus essential fatty acids – that power perilous migrations.

“Coastal wetlands are essential for birds to rest and refuel before continuing their gruelling, long-distance marathon,” explains Barend van Gemerden (BirdLife’s Global Flyways Programme Co-ordinator).

Home to millions

This is true along each of the eight major migratory bird flyways identified worldwide, which for millennia have connected boreal breeding grounds with southern hemisphere wintering quarters. The numbers of birds involved emphasise their importance. The East Asian-Australasian Flyway serves an astounding 50 million migratory waterbirds, including Far Eastern Curlew and Great Knot (Endangered), at 900 internationally important wetlands across 22 countries.

In the Americas, up to 1.3 million migratory shorebirds gather in Suriname and the Bay of Panama, as do 1.1 million in Alaska’s Copper River Delta. Despite a 68% decline from 1982–2005, perhaps two million Semipalmated Sandpipers (Near Threatened) – three-quarters of the world total – assemble in Canada’s Bay of Fundy, drawn by seasonally high densities of crustaceans that fuel a 3,000-km non-stop flight to South America.

The world’s largest tidal mudflats, Europe’s Wadden Sea, nourish 12 million migratory waterbirds, including almost all the world’s ‘dark-bellied’ Brent Geese. On Ukraine’s Black Sea coast, Sivash provides the key stopover point for Broad-billed Sandpiper: almost one-third of its western population may pause there. Research into the body fat levels of this stripy-headed wader suggests that southbound autumn migrants take migration to the wire, building up just enough fat to travel 1,300 km non-stop from Poland’s Baltic coast to Sivash. For its strategy to succeed, Broad-billed Sandpipers rely on Sivash’s brackish lagoons and mudflats remaining intact. Should they – or other wetland stopovers – be destroyed or become degraded, the waders risk death.

“Coastal wetlands are essential for birds to rest and refuel before continuing their gruelling, long-distance marathon.”

Barend van Gemerden, Global Flyways Programme Co-ordinator, BirdLife

Lack of Horseshoe Crab eggs at Delaware Bay, USA has caused a 75% slump in rufa Red Knots in the past 15 years © Gregory Breese, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Nowhere to go

The tragic case of Great Knot exemplifies what happens when things go wrong. In the 2000s, the Republic of Korea reclaimed 400 km2 of Yellow Sea mudflats at Saemangeum by building the world’s longest seawall. Ninety thousand exhausted migrants arrived where the estuary should have been – but found neither habitat nor food. Unable to refuel, they died in transit. Removing this food-rich stopover for migrating Great Knot reduced the species’ global population by 20–30%. In 2010, Great Knot was catapulted from Least Concern to Vulnerable, then uplisted to Endangered in 2015.

One eighth of the world population of the closely-related Red Knot (Near Threatened) uses the same flyway, so these birds run a similar gauntlet. But it is the subspecies rufa, journeying along the eastern seaboard of the Americas from the Arctic to Tierra del Fuego, that has most dramatically suffered unintended consequences of human enterprise. Its population has slumped by 75% in 15 years because of problems at a single site, Delaware Bay (USA). Unlike Saemangeum, its habitat remains intact – but there is no longer enough food. Red Knots have long timed their spring arrival to feast on Horseshoe Crab eggs. But the crabs have been so overharvested that the food source has expired. With insufficient energy to fly the final 3,000 km to Canadian breeding grounds, it was game over.

“Coastal wetlands,” van Gemerden emphasises, “are a lifeline for hundreds of species that migrate through them every year.” But as the two species of knot demonstrate, this lifeline is fraying. The tension between avian need and human greed renders coastal wetlands, according to van Gemerden, “one of the world’s most threatened habitats, devastated by pollution, disturbance, drainage and development projects – and disappearing or being degraded worldwide.” Things will worsen with climate change: modelling suggests that a 2°C rise would impact four out of five US sample sites, destroying 20–70% of their intertidal habitat.

Vanishing habitat

Globally, one sixth of mudflats (more than 20,000 km2 ) disappeared from 1984 to 2016. In the Yellow Sea, up to 65% of intertidal habitats has been lost in 50 years, vast muddy expanses reclaimed for agriculture, aquaculture or infrastructure. The difficulties many migratory birds face in completing annual migrations, van Gemerden says, are “leading to population collapses, pushing a suite of species towards extinction”. Moreover, this tragedy affects not just birds, but people too, given the importance of coastal wetlands in sequestering carbon and reducing flood risk through buffering wave energy.

Accordingly, coastal wetlands need urgent, intensive attention. “BirdLife is working with local communities across the world to protect and restore unique habitats,” van Gemerden explains. “The voices of local users help show how valuable healthy coastal wetlands are.”

Examples from the BirdLife Partnership are wide-ranging. The Bird Conservation Society of Thailand (BirdLife Partner), with support from BirdLife Species Champion Zeiss, is working with local conservation groups to protect working wetlands important for shorebirds such as Spotted Greenshank (Endangered). Audubon (BirdLife in the USA) has restored tidal marshland at San Pablo Bay, California, helping migratory shorebirds such as Willet as well as Black Rail (Endangered). BirdLife Cyprus has removed invasive reeds and created new pools to restore Akrotiri Marsh, a key breeding site for the migratory Ferruginous Duck (Near Threatened). Having worked on 70-plus coastal habitat creation projects in the UK, RSPB (BirdLife Partner) has consolidated its experience into a ‘sustainable shores’ action plan now being brought to a wider audience.

Tropical mangrove forests often shelter open coastal wetland habitats and guard communities against rising sea levels, so receive ample BirdLife attention. In Nigeria, BirdLife is funding a local women’s charity to promote mangrove agroforestry, thereby sustaining livelihoods and stabilising the coast. In Mexico, Pronatura (BirdLife Partner) has worked with villagers for 15 years to restore mangroves. Similar BirdLife initiatives have protected mangroves, and thereby helped both birds and people, in the Caribbean, Panama, Palau and Samoa.

BANCA (BirdLife in Myanmar) is helping local people to develop more sustainable fishing practices to protect the Gulf of Mottama © BANCA

Protecting wetlands globally

Site-based conservation is key, clearly, but BirdLife goes further. “We are also working with governments and businesses to ensure development projects are located out of harm’s way,” van Gemerden says. Again, examples are numerous. In Montenegro, CZIP (BirdLife Partner) successfully blocked construction at Ulcini Salina, persuading the government to protect nationally important saltpans instead. In Turkey, Doğa (BirdLife Partner) launched a successful legal challenge against construction of a ‘mega-bridge’ at Izmir Bay, where a tenth of the world population of Greater Flamingo comes to breed. SPEA (BirdLife Partner) is fighting the Portuguese government’s decision to construct an airport on the Tagus Estuary, winter home to 70,000 Black-tailed Godwits (Near Threatened).

In the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, BirdLife Partner Nature Society (Singapore) secured formal Government protection of mudflats and mangroves at Kranji-Mandai, thereby helping migratory Chinese Egrets (Vulnerable). In 2020, years of effort by BANCA (BirdLife in Myanmar) successfully quadrupled the protected area of mudflats in the Gulf of Mottama to 1,610 km². Alongside restoring habitat at Geum Estuary, the Republic of Korea’s most important wetland following the destruction of Saemangeum and a migratory haven for 5,000 Far Eastern Curlew, the BirdLife Partnership helped South Korean authorities secure the tidal flats’ designation as a World Heritage Site earlier this year. “BirdLife has been extremely influential in guiding governments to take action,” van Gemerden underlines.

This is all great news, but the chain of sites that forms a flyway is only ever as strong as its weakest link. “The loss of a wetland in one country directly affects the number of birds in other nations,” van Gemerden explains. Sadly, the spectre of development looms over wetlands worldwide. Two particularly worrying current examples come from opposite ends of the planet. Canada’s Fraser River Delta, the vital final northbound stopover for most of the world’s Western Sandpipers, is threatened by a proposed massive expansion of a freight terminal. In Australia, meanwhile, 3,000 wintering Far Eastern Curlews are imperilled by plans for a marina and apartment complex at Moreton Bay.

In both developments, BirdLife Partners are on the case. “Through pooling the experience, capacity and influence of our global Partnership,” van Gemerden says, “we are uniting countries along all the world’s major migration routes, ensuring birds have a linked chain of safe havens throughout their journeys.” The world’s coastal wetlands and their migratory waders – whether leggy and long-billed or otherwise equipped – need BirdLife’s help. And that means yours too.

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Protect coastal wetlands for migratory birds

Coastal Wetlands are among the most threatened sites in the world. This year, thousands of birds will end up stranded in the middle of migration, with nowhere to eat or rest on their long journeys. Exhausted and starving, many of them will sadly die.


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Every year, over 200 species of waterbird take off from their breeding grounds across the tundra, marshes and frozen forests of northern Asia, bound to spend the winter in the balmy climates of Australia and New Zealand. Along the way, the diverse flocks converge upon the coastal wetlands of Southeast Asia to refuel on the shoreline’s bountiful worms and molluscs. These vital habitats form the heart of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway – one of the world’s major bird migration flight paths. Protecting these sites is therefore a conservation priority – but what has been achieved so far?

A new paper published in the journal Oryx, written by BirdLife and several of our national Partners, sheds light on the scale of the challenge – not least, the large gaps in basic ecological knowledge of shorebirds in the region, including where the most important sites are found. These knowledge gaps have impeded efforts to protect the most important wetlands for threatened species.

Even when important sites have been identified, action has not necessarily been taken. For instance, while 180 Important Bird & Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) across Southeast Asia contain coastal wetlands, only a small number are actually legally protected. Meanwhile, several potentially important sites for migratory waterbirds remain to be studied, and ongoing research such as satellite tracking has uncovered areas of wetland that hold threatened species, but which are entirely undocumented.

Malaysia’s Penang Coast – as yet unprotected – is a vital habitat for the Great Knot (Endangered) © Nelson Khor

“Few – if any – of the most important sites for shorebirds – the Philippines’ Manila Bay, Vietnam’s Mekong Delta or Peninsular Malaysia’s Penang coast – are protected areas at the moment. Many of these sites are today immediately imperilled by development and may be lost in a few years if nothing is done,” said Ding Li Yong, BirdLife’s regional coordinator for migratory species conservation, and a co-author of the paper.

Coastal development and land reclamation are currently the most concerning threats, the authors noted. “Here in Malaysia, our research has identified the northern coast of mainland Penang State to be exceptionally important to shorebirds, including the Spotted Greenshank (Tringa guttifer – Endangered),” says Chin-Aik Yeap, conservation manager at the Malaysian Nature Society (BirdLife Partner), and a co-author of the paper. “However, the proposed coastal aquaculture project planned here will threaten large parts of this Important Bird & Biodiversity Area, as mangroves will be cut down.”

Nonetheless, the authors conclude that there are excellent grassroot models for migratory waterbird conservation in Southeast Asia. One of these is the Pak Thale Nature Reserve, an initiative led by the Bird Conservation Society of Thailand (BirdLife Partner) to establish a protected area for threatened shorebirds such as the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Calidris pygmaea (Critically Endangered). Under this initiative, traditional salt pans – an important roosting and feeding habitat for shorebirds – are preserved and carefully managed. Meanwhile, while local people and the government are brought together to create conservation groups and sustainable livelihoods.

“Few – if any – of the most important sites for shorebirds are protected areas at the moment.”

Ding Li Yong, Flyways Coordinator (Asia), BirdLife

The careful management of traditional saltpans in Pak Thale Nature Reserve, Thailand, supports a thriving variety of shorebirds © Ayuwat Jearwattanakanok

While there is considerable potential to protect Southeast Asian wetlands, there is a fast narrowing window of opportunity to mobilise conservation resources and scale up action. The recently announced Regional Flyway Initiative, led by the Asian Development Bank in collaboration with BirdLife and the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership, will hopefully mobilise resources at the scale needed to secure our shared coastal wetlands and the livelihoods of people who depend on them.

“The Asian Development Bank’s Regional Flyway Initiative offers us a critical lifeline to secure these wetlands. But we need to act fast, in the next few years if possible,” says Gary Allport, BirdLife’s senior technical advisor.

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