• The First Asian Ornithological Conference convened

    The last two decades have seen a tremendous increase in the development of scientific studies and conservation of birds in Asia. The…


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  • UNFCCC COP26 playback: “Scaling up the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Initiative”

    On 2nd November, a side event “Scaling up the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Initiative” was organized at the United Nations Framework Convention on…


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  • Korean Government announced New Master Plan on Management and Ecological Restoration of Tidal flat and Adjacent Areas

    Yubudo © World Heritage Promotion Team of Korean Tidal Flat Following the Republic of Korea (ROK) getbol, or tidal…


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  • EAAFP virtual engagement in IUCN World Conservation Congress

    Every four years, IUCN holds the World Conservation Congress…


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  • Official Launching of Regional Flyway Initiative

    On 14th October, The East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP), in cooperation with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and BirdLife International today launched the Regional Flyway Initiative (RFI), a long-term…


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  • New Zealand Ambassador to China hosted “Friends of the Flyway 2021”

    Clare Fearnley, New Zealand Ambassador to China, welcoming Tan Guangming, Deputy Director of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration © Birding Beijing It’s easy to get caught up in the doom and gloom that seems to be prevalent right now.  But every now and then, something happens that provides a shot in the arm.. an event or moment that inspires and provides hope. On 16 September, 2022 at the New Zealand Embassy in Beijing was one of those moments.  Clare Fearnley, the brilliant New Zealand Ambassador to China, hosted the inaugural ‘Friends of the Flyway’ to celebrate the migratory birds of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, bringing together ambassadors and senior diplomats from the 22 countries that make up the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership, the secretariat of the EAAFP, senior Chinese government officials, including the Deputy Administrator of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Deputy Mayor of Dandong (stewards of Yalu Jiang, dubbed a “five-star” service station on the shorebird expressway), academics and ‘friends’. During the event, Mr. Doug Watkins, Chief Executive of EAAFP Secretariat, gave a virtual opening remarks. Not only did the event provide an opportunity to celebrate and raise awareness of the flyway among ambassadors and senior diplomats, elevating migratory birds as a foreign policy issue, but it also stimulated ideas and discussions, resulting in a few potential new initiatives, such as managing embassy grounds as ‘wildlife areas’ with embassies signing up to commitments to monitor birds and other wildlife, and to make changes to management practices to improve the habitat for resident and migratory birds.  A birding trip to the coast next May, for Ambassadors to experience the spring migration, is on the cards, and ‘bird-friendly’ glass, painted with ultraviolet patterns, was showcased by local artists as part of the solution to bird collisions (thought to cause the deaths of up to a billion birds in North America annually, with a new research project now starting in China to assess the scale of the issue here). In her opening, Clare told the story of the ‘Kuaka’, the Māori name for the Bar-tailed Godwit, that has such a special place in their culture. The Kuaka is considered to be the link between the northern and southern hemispheres, a carrier of knowledge and the bringer of positive messages.  For Māoris they were birds of mystery, (‘Kua kite te kohanga kuaka?  Who has seen the nest of the kuaka?’). Clare Fearnley, New Zealand Ambassador to China, delivering her welcome remarks to the “Friends of the Flyway” on 16 September © Birding Beijing Nearly all New Zealand Bar-tailed Godwits are from the baueri subspecies and breed in western Alaska. Their incredible migration forms a triangle.  Following the breeding season, these birds make an almost incomprehensible non-stop eight or nine day flight of more than 11,000km to New Zealand, only recently discovered through the tracking of “E7” in 2007. After spending the non-breeding season in New Zealand, they begin their northern migration from early March, heading for refueling sites around the Yellow Sea, many to the Yalu Jiang in Dandong, where they fatten up at this five-star service station for the last leg of the journey to Alaska. Professor Lei Guangchun of Beijing Forestry University tells the story of “E7”, the Bar-tailed Godwit that flew non-stop from Alaska to New Zealand revealing the incredible migration of this species for the first time © Birding Beijing Migratory birds do not respect international borders and, over a calendar year, many will visit multiple countries as they move from breeding grounds to non-breeding grounds via stopover sites.  It follows, therefore, that no single country can secure the future of these birds on its own.  With shared natural heritage comes a shared responsibility and, as we are in the midst of one of the greatest extinction events on Earth, and the first to be driven by humans, it is vital that the international response must go beyond national actions to protect key habitats and species, important though these actions are, to involve sustained and coordinated international cooperation. The East Asian-Australasian Flyway is a bird ‘superhighway’ for more than 50 million waterbirds, including 35 globally threatened species, many of which commute between breeding grounds in the far north, some inside the Arctic Circle, and non-breeding grounds in the southern hemisphere.  Many travel as far as Australia and New Zealand.  However, it is not only the ‘ends of the flyway’ – the breeding grounds in Artic Russia and the non-breeding grounds in Australia and New Zealand that are important.  The commute relies on stopover sites, particularly those in the Yellow Sea. That is why this initiative – bringing together ambassadors from flyway countries with senior Chinese government officials – was so important.  It is now hoped that ambassadors from other Flyway countries will host similar events, celebrating particular aspects of the Flyway or specific species and sites, whilst helping to nurture and strengthen international cooperation along this important route for migratory birds. Huge kudos to Clare and her team, especially Svar Barrington and Hayley Anderson, for initiating this event and for the New Zealand embassy’s ongoing leadership in putting biodiversity high up on the agenda for foreign policy and diplomacy. Original post by Birding Beijing on 4 Oct, 2021 with permission to re-post: https://birdingbeijing.com/2021/10/04/new-zealand-ambassador-to-china-hosts-friends-of-the-flyway/  


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  • EAAFP Webinar for Government Focal Points on the ADB Regional Flyway Initiative

      On 6th October, the EAAFP Secretariat organized a webinar for EAAFP Government Focal Points on the Asian Development Bank’s Regional Flyway Initiative…


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  • Launch of “Coastal High-tide Shorebird Habitat Management Guidelines”

    The EAAFP Secretariat, together with the Australasian Wader Studies Group are hosting a webinar “Launch Event: Coastal High-tide Shorebird Habitat Management Guidelines” on 17 September at 4pm…


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  • Captive-breed Black-faced Spoonbill returned to RO Korea after a year

    Written by Dr. Inki Kwon (National Institute of Ecology) Since its artificial breeding in July last year, a Black-faced Spoonbill returned from China to Korea in…


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  • “World Natural Heritage & Biodiversity: The Conservation and Sustainable Development of Coastal Migratory Bird Sanctuaries” side event at 44th session of the World Heritage Committee meeting, China

    On the evening of 16th July, 2021, the extended 44th session of the World Heritage Committee meeting kicked off in Fuzhou, China. This is the first time in UNESCO’s history that World Heritage topics will be reviewed and discussed online. The meeting was held from 16th July to 31st July, 2021 evaluated 45 agenda items for the World Heritage List, including the inscription of the “Getbol, Korean Tidal Flats” of the Republic of Korea. Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the session. A side event “World Natural Heritage & Biodiversity: Conservation and Sustainable Development of Coastal Migratory Bird Sanctuaries” was held on 17th July, hosted by National Forestry and Grassland Administration of China, and was organized by Yancheng Municipal People's Government, Eco Foundation Global, Fujian Provincial Administration of Forestry, and Fuzhou Municipal Administration of Forestry. Over 100 participants joined the side event. The side event aimed to: Showcase achievements on the conservation and sustainable development of coastal habitats for migratory waterbirds, highlighting the unique role of World Natural Heritage for biodiversity conservation. Voice out for conservation of coastal wetlands – to raise global attention, to seek for more international cooperation on ecological environment, promoting the concept of a community of life for man and nature. With the focus on how World Natural Heritage promotes global biodiversity conservation, the event invited acknowledgeable speakers from International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat, EAAFP Secretariat, Yellow Sea Migratory Bird Habitats (Phase I) World Heritage Site, Shanghai Chongming Dongtan National Nature Reserve, and to share experiences on conservation of coastal habitats and migratory waterbirds, as well as to share vision on international cooperation and collaboration. Prof. Lei Guangchun, Advisor of EAAFP Science Unit chaired a session of the event ©EAAFP Science Unit   The event was kick-started with was moderation by Mr. Wang Zhigao, Director of Conservation Area Management Department, National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA). Opening remarks were given by Prof. Shahbaz Khan, Director of the UNESCO Cluster Office in Beijing and Mr. Zhang Xinsheng, President and Chairman of the IUCN, as well as Mr. Peng Youdong, Deputy Director of NFGA. In the second session, the Summit Dialogue, the Advisor of EAAFP Science Unit, Prof. Lei Guangchun, was the moderator. Dr. Trevor Sandwith, Director of IUCN’s Global Programme on Protected Areas delivered a presentation to introduce the IUCN Global Protected Areas Programme and the Green List programme. Mr. Bernard Baerends, Executive Secretary of Common Wadden Sea Secretariat, shared the experiences of how the trilateral World heritage Site work and brought to conservation and contribute to the local communities. Mr. Doug Watkins, Chief Executive of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership Secretariat, spoke about the importance of joint effort for conserving wetlands in the EAA Flyway, and how the WH inscription foster the conservation, especially in the Yellow Sea region. Mr. Doug Watkins, Chief Executive of EAAFP Secretariat, delivering speech during the event ©Eco Foundation Global   The last session was a Panel Discussion, with Mr. Jiang Wei, Deputy Mayer of Yancheng City, Prof. Zhang Zhengwang, Beijing Normal University, and Mr. Niu Dongliang, Director of Chongming Dongtan Nature Reserve Management Center. The tidal flats of the Yellow Sea are of global importance, especially for the congregation of many species of migratory birds that use the East Asian–Australasian Flyway. Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China (Phase II) is now under intensive preparation to be included into the World Heritage List session of the World Heritage Committee. Panel discussion ©EAAFP Science Unit


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