WWF Inception meeting for Asian Flyways Initiative was held in Bangkok, Thailand on October 13-15, 2019. The Asian Flyways initiative of WWF envisions a thriving and vibrant Asian Flyway network, including East Asian-Australasian Flyway and Central Asian Flyway. The aims are to achieve a complete network of intercontinental wetlands that are protected, restored and effectively managed, and the decline in flyway bird species could be reversed by 2030.

Expected outcomes of this initiative include: by  2030, a comprehensive and ecologically connected network of wetlands are effectively managed to ensure functionality of the two Asian long-distance flyways; regional collaborations with inter-governmental commitments in place to manage and monitor flyways and wetlands that are stepping stone corridors using standardized protocols; community, government, and corporate stewardship agreements for wetland conservation using climate-integrated functional landscape frameworks and water-based management solutions; and by 2027, millions of people are mobilized as bird watchers and citizen scientists for monitoring bird populations and to support wetland conservation.

In the workshop, WWF country offices in Asia area from Mongolia, Vietnam, Thailand, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Cambodia shared the programs and expertise in the past related to wetlands and flyway-related issues. Participants discussed main work plans and roles and presented next steps of work plan for Flyways. Dr. ZENG Qing, Coordinator of East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP) Science Unit, participated in this event and presented the roles of EAAFP and its Science Unit, as well as shared practices on EAAFP Flyway Site Network are experiences on wetland management and flyway conservation which would be useful to this new initiative.

Presentation by Dr. ZENG Qing, Coordinator of East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP) Science Unit © EAAFP Science Unit