Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task Force

In 2004 several partners active in the conservation of the globally threatened Spoon-billed Sandpiper joined the Recovery Team chaired by Evgeny Syroechkovskiy and later by Christoph Zöckler. With the growing demand of work, the finalization of the CMS Single Species Action Plan in 2008 and the continuing support from BirdLife International and many other organizations, it became necessary to formalize the active team to better coordinate the conservation activities along the entire flyway. In February 2010 the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Recovery Team (SBS RT) joined with the EAAFP and in December 2010 was officially endorsed by the partnership as a species Task Force (SBS TF) under the Shorebird working group. The Lead Organization for the EAAFP Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task will be BirdLife International through its partner Birds Russia. It is chaired by the Governmental Partner from Russia and coordinated by Christoph Zöckler from ArcCona Consulting on behalf of Birds Russia, assisted by Sayam Chowdhury from the Bangladesh Spoon-billed Sandpiper Conservation Project (BSCP) and supported by the RSPB and the Manfred-Hermsen Foundation. Task Force members will consist of Governmental Partners of key range states (Russian Federation, Japan, People’s Republic of China, People’s Democratic Republic of Korea, Republic of Korea, Vietnam, Union of Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Bangladesh and India), the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust (WWT), Wetlands International, a representative of the EAAFP Shorebird Working Group, Fauna Flora International (FFI) and experts and conservation organisations from principal range states and other partners. The main aim is to coordinate the conservation activities that have been identified in the CMS Single Species Action Plan for the species commissioned by BirdLife International and regularly updated.

History of SBS TF

In 2004 several partners active in the conservation of the globally threatened Spoon-billed Sandpiper joined the Recovery Team chaired by Evgeny Syroechkovskiy and later by Christoph Zöckler. With the growing demand of work, the finalization of the CMS Single Species Action Plan in 2008 and the continuing support from BirdLife International and many other organizations, it became necessary to formalize the active team to better coordinate the conservation activities along the entire flyway. In February 2010 the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Recovery Team (SBS RT) joined with the EAAFP and in December 2010 was officially endorsed by the partnership as a species Task Force (SBS TF) under the Shorebird working group. Birds Russia is leading the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task on behalf of BirdLife International. It is chaired by the Governmental Partner from Russia and coordinated by Christoph Zöckler from the Manfred-Hermsen Foundation, assisted by Sayam Chowdhury from the Bangladesh Spoon-billed Sandpiper Conservation Project (BSCP) and supported by the Manfred-Hermsen Foundation, the International Conservation Fund for Canada (ICFC), the RSPB and NABU and the Mangrove Conservation Fund (MCF). Task Force members consist of Governmental Partners of key range states (Russian Federation, Japan, People’s Republic of China, People’s Democratic Republic of Korea, Republic of Korea, Vietnam, Union of Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh and India), the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust (WWT), Wetlands International, a representative of the EAAFP Shorebird Working Group, the Mangrove Conservation Fund (MCF), Fauna Flora International (FFI) and experts and conservation organisations from principal range states and other partners. The main aim is to coordinate the conservation activities that have been identified in the CMS Single Species Action Plan for the species commissioned by BirdLife International and is regularly updated.

SBS Task Force Chair

Ms. Sun Lili
Founder and Board Member of Mangrove Foundation (MCF)
Shenzhen, China
Email: sunlili@mcf.org.cn

Bio: Ms. Sun Lili is a Founder and Board Member of Mangrove Foundation (MCF), Life Member and the 8th President of the Society of Entrepreneurs & Ecology (SEE), Director of Futian Mangrove Ecological Park. Having been involved in the establishment of several listed companies and led their CSR programmes, Ms. Sun was recognized as an outstanding female entrepreneur and public charity leader. she was elected as a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (Shenzhen), Vice-Chair of Female Entrepreneurs’ Association of Shenzhen, Chair of the Environmental Protection Committee of Shenzhen NGO Federation, and was awarded as Guangdong Province’s Women Pace-setter and Moral Model, China Philanthropic enterprises. Ms. Sun has been actively involved in local environmental protection since joining SEE and co-founded MCF in July 2012. She is currently studying for Ph.D. at Beijing Forestry University. Since 2018 Lili Sun has become involved in SBS conservation and an ardent supporter of the Spoon-billed sandpiper Task Force. In March 2022 Lili Sun was elected to chair the SBS Task Force of the EAAFP.

Past Task Force Chair:
(Russia)

SBS Task Force Coordinator

Dr. Christoph Zöckler
Manfred Hermsen Foundation/Birds Russia
30 Eachard Road Cambridge CB3 0HY, U.K.
E-mail: christoph.zoeckler@m-h-s.org

Bio: Dr. Christoph Zöckler studied biology in Kiel, Germany and Aberdeen, UK. His over 35 years work experience includes WWF, the University in Bremen, UNEP-WCMC in Cambridge and freelancing as tour guide, for ADB and the World Bank as well as for his own conservation projects in Russia and on wetlands and bird conservation on the EAA flyway. With the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) he developed the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Programme. In the past ten years his Arctic work increasingly encompassed climate change related issues  and since 2007 advising the Manfred-Hermsen Foundation on coastal wetland conservation. In 2000 he initiated the conservation of the globally threatened Spoon-billed Sandpiper and organised the compilation of the International Species Action Plan in 2005 and is coordinating the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task Force. In 2008 his work focus included coastal wetlands in Myanmar and developing protected areas and Ramsar sites in this country. Over 120 research publications to date, and a number of DVDs and booklets.

 

SBS Task Force Assistant Coordinator

Sayam  U. Chowdhury
Conservation Biologist
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Bio: Responding to the growing need for conservation and passion for wildlife, Sayam U. Chowdhury has been working in behavioral ecology, research and conservation of globally threatened species in Bangladesh and abroad for the past 13 years, especially on Critically Endangered birds including Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Baer’s Pochard, Endangered Masked Finfoot, Pallas’s Fish Eagle and vanishing riverine birds. An undergraduate degree in Environmental Science and MPhil degree from the University of Cambridge have complimented his career, helping him to further understand the complex conservation problems that migratory birds face and to find science-based solutions through rigorous research. His recent work is primarily focused on migratory shorebirds of the East Asian–Australasian Flyway, and developing tools for managing coastal habitats and identifying mitigation measures in response to climate change. He is currently pursuing PhD in Zoology at the University of Cambridge.

SBS Task Force Documents

Some files are in pdf format.  Download the Adobe Acrobat reader.

Publications

Newsletters

All files are in pdf format. Download the Adobe Acrobat reader.

Related Materials

Story Book  “The Spoon-billed Sandpiper’s Special Journey”

Published by National Institute of Ecology (NIE) of Ro Korea in 2021.

Read the online English version [here].