The Paulson Institute joined the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership

On 10 December, 2018, the Paulson Institute (PI) became the 37th partner of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP) during the EAAFP 10th Meeting of Partners held in Changjiang, Hainan, China. Dr. Lew Young, Chief Executive, EAAFP welcomed the Paulson Institute as EAAFP’s newest partner, “Their efforts, including the Coastal Wetlands Blueprint Project, have made significant contributions to protecting critical habitats along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway.”

The Paulson Institute’s Dr. Jianbin Shi receiving certificate of EAAFP partner from Mr. Pete Probasco, Chair of EAAFP. The Institute became the 37th official partner of the EAAFP. (Photo credit: Eugene Cheah/EAAFP)

Ms. Rose Niu, Chief Conservation Officer, the Paulson Institute, said, “The Paulson Institute is pleased to join EAAFP as a partner to strengthen our mutual efforts on the conservation and sustainable use of the tidal-flats around the Yellow Sea for the benefit of the migratory waterbirds and the local population.”

Since 2014, the Paulson Institute has worked to conserve China’s coastal wetlands in partnership with State Forestry Administration (now the National Forestry and Grassland Administration), the Chinese Academy of Sciences and others, with financial support from the Lao Niu Foundation and Heren Charitable Foundation. The China Coastal Wetlands Blueprint Project has been a core part of the organization’s efforts. The Blueprint showed that although coastal wetlands represented only 0.6% of China’s land area, they offered ecosystem services with an annual value of USD200 billion. As these benefits were not being taken into account during planning and development processes, about 60% of the tidal-flats along China’s coast had been lost over the last few decades.

Following publication of the Blueprint and its policy recommendations, the Chinese government announced steps to conserve tidal-flats around the country, including a proposal to nominate a series of coastal sites along the Yellow Sea and Bohai Bay for World Heritage status and to ban further ‘commercial’ reclamation of coastal wetlands. The EAAFP is looking forward to the future collaboration with the Paulson Institute to bring their expertise to the partnership.

About the Paulson Institute

The Paulson Institute is a non-partisan “think and do” tank at the intersection of economics and the environment. Established in 2011 by Henry M. Paulson, Jr., the 74th Secretary of the Treasury and former Chief Executive Officer of Goldman Sachs, the Institute is committed to the principle that today’s most pressing economic and environmental challenges can be solved when the United States and China work in complementary ways. Headquartered in Chicago with offices in Washington and Beijing, the Institute focuses on research, programs, and advocacy that advance the transition to more sustainable, low-carbon economic models.

Website: http://www.paulsoninstitute.org

Further reading: “Why We Are Welcoming Paulson Institute to the EAAFP”

Post a comment