I am feeling energised! I have just returned from representing The Paulson Institute at the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership’s 12th Meeting of the Parties in Cebu, Philippines.
This informal process, spawned from the UN Wetlands Convention (Ramsar Convention) is remarkable. Is there any other forum – on any issue – where you can find representatives from Russia, China and U.S. alongside participants from all 22 flyway countries stretching from Siberia and Alaska to Australia and New Zealand, with their discussions free of geopolitics? Instead these remarkable people are bound by a single shared objective – to protect migratory birds and the places they need.
It was inspiring to hear about how the work of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task Force has slowed the rate of decline of this critically endangered species from 26% per annum in the early 2000s (with a prediction that it would be extinct by 2020 without decisive action) to just 5% today.. with agreement on a new action plan involving Russia, China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Vietnam with support from UK NGOs and the Paulson Institute, designed to reverse that decline.
It was inspiring, too, to hear about the incredible efforts on the ground, from NGOs in Thailand and Philippines to indigenous communities in Alaska and New Zealand, to support migratory birds. Did you know that, for the Maori, the Bar-tailed Godwit (known as the ‘kuaka’) has a special place in their culture due to the fact the original settlers left the Pacific Islands in the direction of what is now New Zealand following the Bar-tailed Godwit’s migration? They realised the godwit was not a seabird and understood that these birds must be heading towards land, so set off to follow them.
The Cebu meeting also saw the launch of the Youth Task Force, a group of enthusiastic and passionate young people from across the Flyway, led by local student Matthew Vincent Tabilog. Their activities to engage and enthuse youth groups in countries along the Flyway are inspirational, and vital.
I was grateful to have the opportunity to speak about the recent work of China’s prosecutors to tackle the illegal use of mist-nets to trap wild birds and saw how that example is already encouraging others.
There are far too many highlights to mention, not least catching up with so many incredible people from along the Flyway who are dedicating their lives to supporting nature, and meeting more conservation heroes.
These meetings are held every two years and, since the last meeting in 2023, the Flyway has lost one of its flock – Richard Hearn of WWT. Rich not only dedicated much of his time to coordinating waterbird counts in the Yangtze River basin with local NGOs, but was also the Coordinator for the Baer’s Pochard Task Force. He was the driving force behind the creation of the group and its early work, during which time I was fortunate to work closely with him, particularly around the Task Force meeting in Hengshui Lake in Hebei Province. Professor Ding Changqing of Beijing Forestry University, Chair of the Baer’s Pochard Task Force, delivered a heartfelt and moving tribute. I am sure Rich will be looking down and smiling at the progress that has been made to conserve this special duck since that work began.
The EAAFP MoP was a wonderful reminder that birds unite us – they unite countries, regions, cities, communities and, most of all, people.
With all that is going on in the world today, it is easy to lose hope but I came away from Cebu with renewed energy and a firm belief that, with all these people working tirelessly all along the Flyway, many in difficult circumstances, we can – and must be – optimistic.
And in the words of the late Tom Lovejoy, “if we take care of birds, we take care of most of the environmental problems in the world”.
Huge thanks to the people of Cebu for their unparalleled hospitality and to the EAAFP secretariat for their incredible hard work and dedication to put together a tremendously uplifting meeting. Now the task is to channel that energy to redouble efforts to protect, restore and, importantly, to celebrate the East Asian-Australasian Flyway.