The East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP) is pleased to announce that it has officially accepted Australia’s offer to co-host, with BirdLife Australia, the Flyway Partnership’s 11th Meeting of Partners in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia from 14 to 19 March 2021.
The Meeting of Partners brings together all 37 EAAFP Partners every two years to discuss important issues affecting the Partnership, migratory waterbirds, and their habitats.
With the EAAFP being made up of Partners including 18 national governments, 6 inter‑governmental organizations, 12 international non-governmental organizations and 1 international private enterprise, the Meeting of Partners is an important forum to agree and make decisions on the conservation of migratory waterbirds across the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. It is also an opportunity for Partners, site managers, Working Groups and Task Forces to share experiences, coordinate and plan future actions for conserving migratory waterbirds, particularly those identified as threatened, and their habitats along the EAAF.
The 11th Meeting of Partners’ host city, Brisbane of Queensland is Australia’s most biodiverse capital city. Moreton Bay (EAAF 013), an East Asian-Australasian Flyway Network and Ramsar Wetland site, has very significant social and ecological values with diverse coastal, seagrass, mangrove and wetland habitats. It is one of the largest wintering sites for the IUCN Red Listed ‘Endangered’ Far Eastern Curlew. Australia became a founding Partner of the EAAFP in 2006 and has been an active and important partner ever since. Australia is currently Chair of the Far Eastern Curlew Task Force and Vice-Chair of the Illegal Hunting, Take and Trade Task Force. To date, Australia has designated 24 Flyway Network Sites and is playing a leading role in conserving wetlands and migratory waterbirds along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. This will be the first Meeting of Partners to be held in Australia.
BirdLife Australia is Australia’s largest organization devoted to the conservation and research of birds and their habitats. BirdLife Australia’s Australasian Wader Studies Group has been an instrumental member of the EAAFP and has been an international non-government organization partner since 2006. BirdLife Australia’s Migratory Shorebirds Program facilitates a range of projects (including the National Shorebird Monitoring) aimed at improving the situation of our shared migratory shorebirds.
On behalf of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership, the EAAFP Management Committee extends its sincere gratitude to the Australian Government and BirdLife Australia for their willingness to co-host this important international meeting for the conservation of wetlands and migratory waterbirds.
The 11th Meeting of Partners webpage is now available. Further announcements and additional information about the meeting will be available shortly.
