-
Work and achievements of EAAFP Secretariat in collaboration with the Partners in 2022
1. Development of Flyway Site Network Designation of new Flyway Network Sites, Rongcheng Swan National Nature Reserve and Gochang Getbol In 2022, the EAAFP welcomed two new Flyway Network Sites: Rongcheng Swan National Nature Reserve from the People’s Republic of China (joined on 2nd February 2022 as EAAF 152, Read more) and Gochang Getbol from the Republic of Korea (joined on 28th August, 2022 as EAAF 153, Read more). © Rongcheng Swan National Nature Reserve Gochang Getbol FNS © Gochang City Supporting development of local Flyway Network Sites and Sister Site Programme in 2022 The Secretariat facilitated the development of Flyway Network Site Hwaseong Wetlands in Ro Korea to prepare a management plan and supported surveys for Far Eastern Curlew at the site (Read more). as well as linking important Far Eastern Curlew sites in the Philippines. Our Partner WWT visited in May to provide consultations on conservation management to Hwaseong, Seocheon and Gochang Cities. Regarding Incheon - Hong Kong Sister Site Program, while the national and international Black-faced Spoonbill census continued, an in-person environmental education training workshop was held in August (Read more) and a Black-faced Spoonbill migration teaching pack was revised with support from Partner WWF-Hong Kong (Read more). WWT field visit to Yubudo Flyway Network Site in Seocheon © EAAFP Secretariat Incheon-Hong Kong Environmental education training workshop © EAAFP Secretariat 2. Enhance communication, education, participation and awareness (CEPA) 2022 Year of the Tern The EAAFP Secretariat and the Seabird Working Group initiated the Year of the Terns in 2022, aimed to raise awareness and promote information exchange and collaboration on the over 150 seabird species throughout the EAA Flyway. Throughout the year, we carried out a Photo Contest (Read more), a webinar series in line with World Seabird Day (Read more) and promoted via social media “Terns of the Month” and flyway stories. © EAAFP Secretariat Youth Think Tank Competition for the EAA Flyway A continuing the vision from the 2020 Flyway Youth Forum, the Youth Think Tank Competition for the EAA Flyway was organized to motivate and equip young people in the EAA Flyway keen on contributing to the conservation of migratory waterbirds and their habitats. The competition ran 4 capacity building workshops and funded 5 selected youth projects, and successfully concluded the Competition, engaging over 150 youths and participants throughout the year. © EAAFP Secretariat © EAAFP Secretariat 2022 World Migratory Bird Day and other awareness-raising events and activities Raised awareness for the World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) 2022 theme focusing on “Light pollution” by funding 14 WMBD events (Read more). For the first time, the Secretariat collaborated with CMS, AEWA and EFTA for a joint WMBD webinar series in October (Read more), and coordinated with Seoul Science Museum for WMBD events (Read more). EAAFP Foundation collaborated with Yeonsu Foundation for Arts and Culture (YSFAC) in 2022 "Birds Meet Art" Programme with a series of educational sessions and exhibitions (Read more) and concluded with an international Workshop (Read more). Poster of 2022 WMBD Exhibition for 2022 "Birds Meet Art" Programme © EAAFP Secretariat 3. Enhance flyway research, build knowledge and promote exchange of information Publication of the first Conservation Status Review for East Asian – Australasian Flyway Since 2021, the consultation of the first Conservation Status Review (CSR1) for EAAF was kickstarted. Launched in July, 2022, CSR 1 was produced by Wetlands International in collaboration with The East Asian–Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP) Partners, Working Groups, Task Forces and experts. It is the first time the population distribution ranges of all migratory waterbird populations were mapped in the EAAF (Read more). © EAAFP Secretariat 4. Develop flyway-wide approaches to enhance the conservation As a Ramsar Regional Initiative, the EAAFP and many of its Partners attended and actively engaged in the Ramsar Convention COP14 held in China's Wuhan and Switzerland's Genevan, from 5th to 13th, to negotiate and promote conservation agenda and celebrate achievements. There were over 35 Side events organized or participated by EAAFP Partners and the EAAFP Secretariat (Read more), and many bilateral meetings with Partners and collaborators were held. The COP concluded with 21 resolutions (Read more). EAAFP Partners at Ramsar COP14 © EAAFP Secretariat Youth Dialougue at Ramsar COP14 © EAAFP Secretariat 5. Resource Mobilization Activities of the Regional Flyway Initiative (RFI) The Regional Flyway Initiative partnership - BirdLife International, East Asian Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP) Secretariat, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) - held a Side Event at the Ramsar COP14 held in Geneva, Switzerland on 8th November 2022. The RFI partners with government representatives from Viet Nam and the Philippines gave presentations on how the RFI could contribute to the national biodiversity agenda and in elevating the local communities’ livelihoods. The Side Event included statements from Beom-Sik Yoo from the Ramsar Secretariat, Ward Hagemeijer from Wetlands International, and Warren Evans from ADB. Corporate Champion Programme - Ulsan Corporate Champion Certificate Ceremony Following the MOU signing with the EAAFP Secretariat in May 2021, Ulsan Metropolitan City and the four Ulsan corporates—Hyundai Motor Company, S-OIL Corporation, Korea Petrochemical Ind. Co., LTD., and Kyungdong City Gas co., Ltd. attended the Ulsan Corporate Champion Certificate Ceremony in Incheon, Ro Korea on 25th November, 2022 (Read more) for their contribution to the conservation of migratory waterbirds and habitats. Ulsan Corporate Champion Certificate Ceremony © EAAFP Secretariat 2021–2022 EAAFP Foundation’s Small Grants Programme The 2021–2022 EAAFP Foundation’s Small Grants Programme supports local projects from 8 civil society organizations in Ro Korea to conserve migratory waterbirds and their habitats, with sponsorship by Korea South-East Power Co., Ltd. Yeongheung Division (KOEN) and Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) and supported by Incheon Metropolitan City. An achievement-sharing workshop was held o 26th May, 2022 (Read more). EAAFP Foundation Small Grants Programme Workshop © EAAFP Secretariat
Continue reading -
Winner of the Youth Think Tank Competition for the EAA Flyway revealed!
After a wonderful 2-years, the Youth Think Tank Competition for the EAA Flyway came to a close on Saturday 22nd October 2022. To extend the momentum of 2020 Flyway Youth Forum which became the first spark for dialogue amongst youth in the EAA Flyway on conservation of wetlands and migratory waterbirds, the Youth Think Tank Competition for the EAA Flyway was launched on August 2021 to encourage and enable youth to actively engaging in conservation. Taking in the feedback from the forum participants, who commented that they wanted further opportunities to actively take part in wetland and migratory bird conservation, the EAAFP Secretariat, with the help of various advisors from the partnership, organized the Competition to provide the opportunity to fulfil the needs. The competition was targeted at Youth between the ages 18-29. During Phase I, a total of 37 applications from 14 countries were submitted. Each project was carefully reviewed by the esteemed judge panel. Eventually, 5 selected teams from China, the Philippines, and Indonesia would receive funding from the Secretariat to implement their projects. The result was announced in December 2021: 1. Project Lupad (Philippines) 2. Seabirds of Tubbataha (Philippines) 3. Environmental Education in Dongting Lake (China) 4. Dining Wetlands for Humans and Birds (China) 5. Rediscover Kei Islands (Indonesia) To help guide the youths with their projects, each team was assigned a mentor, who would coach them along the project implementation. The mentors were helped them to tackle various challenges they faced, one of which proved to be the COVID pandemic. All teams are able to overcome the challenges and successfully implemented their projects from January to October 2022. The second part of the programme is capacity building. The EAAFP Secretariat, with support from recruited 4 youth volunteers and EAAFP interns which formed the Youth Organizing Team, organized workshop series of 4 sessions, inviting distinguished speakers and trainers to cover key topics: 1) Understanding global agenda for environment and how youth are engaged 2) Engaging Local Communities in Conservation of Migratory Waterbirds and Wetlands 3) Project Management 4) Conservation Communication and Story Telling. Most workshops comprised of a webinar and an in-depth training workshop. The 4-part workshop series reached a total of 75 different participants from 16 countries within and beyond the Flyway. The Pre- and Post-workshop surveys filled out by the participants of each workshop indicated an increase in knowledge and skills for each topic and the majority of participants also expressed that they found the workshops to be useful in their line of work. On 22nd October, project teams, mentors, judges, and many others gathered for the Closing Ceremony. The ceremony kicked off with opening speeches from Mr. Doug Watkins, Chief Executive of the EAAFP Secretariat and Mr. Casey Burns, EAAFP CEPA Working Group Chair, followed by a short summary presentation of the Competition by Ms. Vivian Fu, EAAFP Communication Officer, who headed the entire competition. Each team then gave 10–15-minute presentations on their projects. After that, the Grand Final Winner selected by the judges was announced by Mr. Doug Watkins. And the Grand Final Winner was Team “Dining Wetlands for Humans and Birds” from China. Image: Winning Team “Dining Wetlands for Humans and Birds" with Mr. Doug Watkins, EAAFP Chief Executive and Mr. Chris Rostron, one of the judges of the Competition The winning team will be awarded an opportunity to join an international events (e.g. Ramsar COP14) and will also be offered a position as a youth representative for the CEPA Working Group. Those who attended the closing ceremony left amazed and moved by the creativity and capabilities of the 5 youth teams. Youth Think Tank Competition once again proves the importance and strength of youth in the conservation field. Following the success of the programme, the Secretariat will continue to find further opportunities for youth to engage in EAAFP work and activities. Image: Closing Ceremony Group Photo We would like to express our gratitude to the advisors: Mark Edison Raquino (Global Youth Biodiversity Network – South East Asia); Suh Seung Oh, Ramsar Regional Center -East Asia; Tomoko Ichikawa, Ministry Of Environment Japan; Yamme Leung, World Wide Fund – Hong Kong; Casey Burns, EAAFP CEPA Working Group; Gab Mejia, Youth Engaged in Wetland, Josefa Cariño Tauli, Global Youth Biodiversity Network. The mentors: Ding Li Yong, BirdLife International (Asia Division); Terry Townshend, Paulson Institute; Sayam U. Chowdhury, EAAFP Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task Force, Micha Jackson, The University of Queensland. Our special thanks goes to the honorable judges: Mika Tan from ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity; Beom-Sik Yoo, The Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention; Spike Millington, International Crane Foundation; Chris Rostron, Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT); Anastasia Cronin, National Geographic; and Casey Burns, EAAFP CEPA Working Group. We would also like to thank the amazing organizing team: Ho Bun Yu (Orca), Jord Gadingan, Thura Htike, Frances Alvares (designer) and from the Secretariat Yoomi Sim, Sinwoo Won, Yoonjae Bae, Yuji Lim, Yeonju Park, Hyoin Kim, Sewon Lim, Yunjoo Cho and Yoon Lee. For more on the Youth Think Tank Competition For playback of each workshop: Workshop 1 Workshop 2 Workshop 3
Continue reading -
Youth Think Tank Competition for EAA Flyway- 1st Training workshop
The first training workshop of Youth Think Tank competition for EAA Flyway —Understanding global agenda for environment and how youth are engaged was…
Continue reading
