The Flyway Site Network refers to the network of important sites – wetlands – used by migratory waterbirds throughout the Flyway.

The East Asian-Australasian Flyway (the Flyway) is one of nine major migratory waterbird flyways around the globe and is home to over 50 million migratory waterbirds – including shorebirds, Anatidae (ducks, geese and swans), cranes, and seabirds (for example divers, cormorants, gulls, shearwaters, and auks) – from over 250 different populations.

There are currently 900 sites recognised as internationally important to migratory waterbirds along the flyway.

One or more of the following criteria need to be met for a site to be considered as internationally important for migratory waterbirds for listing in the Flyway Site Network:

  • it regularly supports > 20 000 migratory waterbirds; or,
  • it regularly supports > 1 % of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of migratory waterbird; or,
  • it supports appreciable numbers of an endangered or vulnerable population of migratory waterbird
  • it is a “staging site” supporting > 5 000 waterbirds, or > 0.25% of a population stage at the site.

 

More information on the listing process that is undertaken by National Partners to propose new sites to the Site Network is available here and 1% thresholds are available on the Waterbird Populations Portal.

Green dots indicate important sites for migratory waterbirds and red dots indicate sites in the Flyway Site Network.

 

 Flyway Site Network today

  • Number of Flyway Network Sites: 154 Full list of sites (as of November 2023)
  • Number of Countries joining Flyway Site Network: 19
    (Russia 10, USA 2, Mongolia 11, China 20, Democratic People's Republic Korea 2, Republic of Korea 18, Japan 34, Bangladesh 6, Myanmar 8, Philippines 4, Thailand 3, Vietnam 1, Malaysia 1, Singapore 1, Indonesia 2, Papua New Guinea 1, Australia 25, New Zealand 4, Cambodia 1)
  • The total surface area of designated sites (hectares): 23,087,819
  • For more information on each site, click the map location.

National Flyway Network Site Information

 

Commonwealth of Australia

Number of Flyway Network Sites: 25
Member since: 2006

 

Republic of Indonesia

Number of Flyway Network Sites: 2
Member since: 2006

 

 

Japan

Number of Flyway Network Sites: 34
Member since: 2006

 

Republic of Philippines

Number of Flyway Network Sites: 4
Member since: 2006

 

 

Republic of Korea

Number of Flyway Network Sites: 18
Member since: 2006

 

Russian Federation

Number of Flyway Network Sites: 10
Member since: 2006

 

Republic of Singapore

Number of Flyway Network Sites: 1
Member since: 2006

The United States of America

Number of Flyway Network Sites: 2
Member since: 2006

Kingdom of Cambodia

Number of Flyway Network Sites: 1
Member since: 2007

 

 

People's Republic of China

Number of Flyway Network Sites: 20
Member since: 2008

 

People's Republic of Bangladesh

Number of Flyway Network Sites: 6
Member since: 2010

 

Kingdom of Thailand

Number of Flyway Network Sites: 3
Member since: 2010

 

Mongolia

Number of Flyway Network Sites: 11
Member since: 2011

 

New Zealand

Number of Flyway Network Sites: 4
Member since: 2011

 

 

Malaysia

Number of Flyway Network Sites: 1
Member since: 2012

 

 

The Republic of the Union of Myanmar

Number of Flyway Network Sites: 8
Member since: 2014

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Number of Flyway Network Sites: 1
Member since: 2017

 

Democratic People's Republic of Korea

Number of Flyway Network Sites: 2
Member since: 2018

Papua New Guinea

Number of Flyway Network Sites: 1
Member not yet

 

Tools for development of the Flyway Site Network (2013)

An integrated and updated list of candidate sites and guidance on prioritisation

Flyway Network Site Assessment(2013)

 

Flyer of EAAFP Flyway Site Network and Sister Sites (2022)