East Asian -Australasian Flyway Partnership

EAAFPE-newsletterNo.10-MAY2013

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PARTNERSHIPNEWS

• WildlifeConservation SocietyJoins theEAAFP

• EAAFPwelcomesDr. Judit SzaboasnewScienceOfficeron 1March2013

• Australia DesignatesEighty-mileBeach andRoebuckBayas FSNsites

• CelebrateWorld MigratoryBird Day2013

• Incheon Waterbird Paradise (information brochure)published

• A Total of 2,725 Black-faced Spoonbills recordedin the 2013GlobalCensus,an Increaseof 1.2%from2012

• Black-faced Spoonbill Nest Event held at

NamdongReservoirin Songdo,Incheon

• EAAFPSpoon-billedSandpiperTaskForce newsletter for No.9 February 2013 published

•2012Black-facedspoonbill festival,Songdo, Republic ofKorea

RELATEDNEWS

• BohaiUpdate,April2013

• SonadiaIslandgivenInternationalRecognitionforWildlife

• StatementonH7N9AvianInfluenzain China,April15th2013

Bar-tailedGodwit©DaveBakewell

• ApplyforInternationalAsiaWorkshoponMigratoryWaterbirdProtectionandWetlandManagement

• Restoringa BreedingColonyofChineseCrestedTern

• NewWinteringSiteforScaly-sidedMerganserdiscoveredin Chongqing,SouthwestChina

• Cambodialoseshalfitsseasonalwetlandsin10years

• WorldWetlandsDayCelebrationinAuckland,NewZealand

• MalaysianNatureSocietycelebratesWorldWetlandsDay2013

• MarkettradeisfuellingthekillingofmigratorybirdsinNorthernChina

• RingedRed-crownedCranesObservedinHaman,SouthKorea

• ChinaCoastalWaterbirdCensuswinsFord GreenAward

• RecordnumberofBlack-facedSpoonbillBirdsRecordedin Census

• FewerPondsinCandabameanFewerMigrantBirds

•FewerBlack-facedSpoonbillsintown

• Rongcheng,SafeHavenforSwans

• FrenchBirdwatcherCallsforBirdProtection

• MalaysiaNotOutofStork

• ShorebirdTrappingThreatensNewSpoon-billedSandpiperWinteringSitein China

• WinteringGroundsofRed-crownedCraneinKangryong,MundokandAnbyon,NorthKorea

• SixthEditionofRamsarConventionManualReleased

PARTNERSHIPNEWS

WildlifeConservationSocietyJoinstheEAAFP:

On 19 March, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) became the 29th Partner of EAAFP, with the unanimoussupport of allPartners. During the application process, PartnerswarmlywelcomedWCS and indeed manyPartnersalreadywork collaborativelywith WCS programmes, projectsandstaffin manycountries of the Flyway. In addition to bringingin theknowledge andexperience of conservation scientists in the region andbeyond, WCSalso offers a programme of field-basedinitiatives addressingthreatsandopportunitiesto

conserve key species and sites. For

exampleWCS scientistsin theRussianFar Eastarealreadycontributingvaluableinformation and fieldworkonprioritywaterbirdssuchasthe criticallydecliningBaer’s PochardandScaly-sided Merganser. By joining EAAFP we believe that WCS offers a great opportunity to integrate migratorywaterbird conservation intoitscurrentandongoing projectsand help strengthen cooperation amongexisting Partnersand welookforward tojointinitiativesin thenear future.

WeattheWildlifeConservationSocietyareexcitedtojointheEAAFPasa Partner,andtobeginto work collaborativelytoprotectkey migratoryplacesandhelpconserveat-riskbirdspeciesinthis immenseand importantFlyway. Weareascience-driven conservation organization,with country programs(andthusregionalconservation capacityandexpertise)throughoutmuchoftheFlyway. Assuch,wecanassisttheEAAFPinidentifyingpriorityareasfordifferentmigratoryspeciesand wealsohavethestandingtohelp protectthem. In mypositionascoordinator ofbirdconservation forWCS,Ihavethe opportunitytobring together existingbirdconservation efforts ofWCSinto larger and morecoherenteffortsfor greater conservation impact.

WelookforwardtoworkingwiththePartnership anddiscoveringhowbesttoalignourcapacity withthegroup’s mostimportantstrategicinterests.Iwillbrieflyhighlighttwostartingpointsof potentialimportancehere. InCambodiaatthe vastTonleSaplakeandassociatedfloodedforests, WCS has worked in collaboration with ministry officials to protect nesting colonies of many

waterbirdspecies(storks,pelicans,ibises,darters,etc.)fromeggpoaching,andhashelpedmany ofthesespeciesrecovertheirpopulations.ThesebirdsmigratefromthroughoutAsiatobreed in thishistoricregion.InArcticAlaska,Ihaveledeffortstostudyandprotect hugenumbersof breedingbirdsinthecoastalplain.Oureffortsthere, togetherwithothers,recentlyresultedinthe protectionfromdevelopmentofsome 11 millionacres ofhabitat,much ofthatinthewetland complex surroundingTeshekpukLake where millions ofbreedingpairs ofshorebirds,waterfowl, loons,and othersoccur. Specieslike Dunlin,Bar-tailedGodwit,and Yellow-billed Loon formpartof theEAAF.WehavecollaboratedinstudiesofDunlinmigrationwithuseofgeolocators,andso haveaclearidea ofwherepopulationsinareaswerecentlyhelpedtoprotect spendthewinter, primarilyinandaroundtheYellowSea.Studieslikethesearepromising starting pointsforhelping toconservethis andotherspeciesacrosstherangeoftheir impressivemigrations.

Ilookforwardtomeeting partnersandcollaborators ofthePartnershipintheupcoming meetings inAlaska. There,wecan begindiscussionsandplanningofhowbestweatWCScan assistin protecting birdsand theirmigratoryhabitatsinthismostimportantFlyway.

SeethelistofPartners

EAAFPwelcomesDr.JuditSzaboasnewScienceOfficeron1March2013:

JuditSzabohasbeen fascinated bybirds sincechildhood,which shespend watchingandringing birdsinthe floodplainsoftheDanubeRiver.Shehas aMaster’sdegreeinTheoretical Ecology and completed her thesis studying nesting behaviour and migration of the BlackStork.Shestudiedfora Doctoral degreeinEnvironmental Toxicologyat Texas Tech University in the United States of America and herresearch focussedontheeffectsoflocust-control

pesticidesonAustralianbirdsinremotepartsofthecontinent.Duringheracademiccareershe has studied optimal monitoring of birds, including threatened species, such as the Plains Wanderer.Shealsoworkedextensivelywith volunteer-collecteddatasetslookingforpatternsand trends in bird distributions. Recently she has contributed to the Red List assessment of all Australianbirdspeciesandsubspeciesandco-authoredtheActionPlanforAustralianBirds.She hascontributedtocapturingandmarkingshorebirdsin variousparts ofAustraliaandhasstudied disturbancestomigratoryshorebirdsinnorthernAustralia.Shealsohas extensive experience working withstorks,raptorsandpasserines,anda keeninterestin trainingthenextgenerationof birdresearchersinmethodsofbirdcaptureandhandling.JudithaslivedinEurope,theMiddle East,theUSA and Australiaand hastravelledwidelytoobserveand study birdsaround theworld.

AustraliaDesignatesEighty-mileBeachandRoebuckBayasFSNsites:

Eighty-MileBeachandRoebuckBayareamongthe mostimportantnon-breedingandmigratory stop-overareasforthehundredsofthousandsofmigratoryshorebirdsin theEastAsian- AustralasianFlyway.The sitesarehome tomorethan300species ofbirdsincluding50species of shorebirds.Forsomespeciesofmigratoryshorebird,thehighestconcentrationshavebeenfound atthesesites.BothsitesweredesignatedasnewadditionstotheFlywaySiteNetwork(FSN)on4

March2013,bringing thetotal numberof Australian sitesto19.

Eighty-MileBeachislocatedinremotenorth-westWesternAustralia.Thissiteisover 175,000 hectaresanditconsistsofa220-kmsection ofcoastlineandadjacentmudflats,aswellasinland marshland with two large ephemeral lakes and a series of springs. Eighty-Mile Beach is a designatedRamsarwetlandaswellasaWesternAustralia“ClassA”MarinePark,listedinJanuary

2013.

Eighty-mileBeach is themostimportantsitein Australia for usebymigrantshorebirds,particularly ontheirsouthward migrationduringAugusttoNovember.Over336,000shorebirdswerecounted at Eighty-Mile Beach in November 1982, while 472,000 were present in November 2001. AccordingtoBirdLifeAustralia’sShorebirds 2020databaseandRogersetal.(2011),nearly 3.5 millionindividuals werecountedandnumbersexceededthe1%criterionlevel oftheFSNinthe caseof 15 migratoryshorebirdspecies,Bar-tailedGodwitLimosalapponica,CommonGreenshank Tringanebularia,TerekSandpiperXenuscinereus,Grey-tailedTattlerTringabrevipes,Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres, Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris, Red Knot Calidris canutus,

SanderlingCalidrisalba,Red-necked StintCalidrisruficollis,CurlewSandpiper Calidrisferruginea, GreaterSand PloverCharadriusleschenaultii,Oriental PloverCharadriusveredus,GreyPlover Pluvialissquatarola, EasternCurlewNumeniusmadagascariensisandOriental PratincoleGlareolamaldivarum.

Therecord of over 2.8millionOriental PratincolesbytheNWAustralia Wader andTern Expedition in2004wasextraordinary,asitvastlyexceedsthepreviousestimatedpopulationinthewhole EastAsian –AustralasianFlywayofjust75,000. OrientalPratincolesarenomadicduringthenon- breeding season, moving around in responsetotheavailabilityof food which is largelydetermined byrainfall.Therefore,itislikelythatacombination ofunusualweatherandfeedingconditionsled tothisconcentrationand thatthepopulationhasalwaysbeen much morenumerousthan previouslysupposed,with mostoccurringunrecordedinthevastness ofremoteandlittle-visited outback Australia.

Thesecondsite,Roebuck Baycoveringanareaof34,119ha,isconsideredtobethearrivaland departurepointforlargeproportions of theAustralianpopulations of several migratoryshorebird species,forinstancetheBar-tailedGodwitLimosalapponica.Thisspeciesisbelieved toflynon- stopbetweencontinentalEastAsiaandAustralia.RoebuckBayisalsoarichfeedinggroundfor othershorebirdspecies,supportingan exceptionally high micro-invertebratebiomass,including manyspeciesyetto beformally described(G.Pearson,pers. comm.).

Withextensive,highlybiologicallydiverseintertidalmudflats,RoebuckBayregularlysupports over

100,000migratorywaterbirds.Thehighestnumberofshorebirdscountedatthesitewas170,900 inOctober1983and atotalofover88,000shorebirdswerecountedatthesiteduringtheaustral summer of2009-2010.Thesitesupportsgloballysignificantnumbers ofatleast18 migratory shorebirdspecies,allofwhichoccurinnumberswellinexcessof1%oftheflywaypopulation;

Black-tailedGodwitLimosalimosa,Bar-tailedGodwit,CommonGreenshank,TerekSandpiper, Grey-tailedTattler,Ruddy Turnstone, Great Knot,RedKnot,Sanderling,Red-neckedStint, Curlew Sandpiper,GreaterSand Plover,OrientalPlover,Grey Plover, EasternCurlew, WhimbrelNumeniusphaeopusvariegatus,AsianDowitcherLimnodromussemipalmatusand OrientalPratincole. This areahasbeenjointlymanagedbythe YawuruTraditionalOwnersandtheDepartment of Conservationof Western Australia.

MigratoryshorebirdsfromRoebuck Bayflyupto 10,000km eachyearfromRoebuckBaytoArctic breedinggrounds.However,theycannotundertakethislongflightinone longhaul.Many migratoryshorebirdsstopoverattheYellowSeatofeedbeforeheadingtoAlaskaorSiberiato mateandnest.Duetorecentandacceleratingloss ofintertidal mudflatsintheYellowSeaasa result of industrialisation, these vitalfeedinggroundsaredisappearing. Theresultis major reductions in manyspecies,particularlytheGreatKnotand Red Knot,theCurlewSandpiper and severalotherspecies.

SinceshorebirdshavedeclinedatEighty-MileBeachandRoebuckBayover thelastdecade, Australiahasinvestigated possiblecauses ofdeclines observedin migratoryshorebirdsnumbers, includingwhetheranydeclinesmaybetheresult ofhabitatchangeatstagingareasinthe Yellow Sea.

AmajorprogramisunderwayatBirdLifeAustralia entitled ‘Shorebirds2020’.Theprogramis designedtoreinvigorate andcoordinatenationalshorebird monitoringinAustraliaandisa collaborative enterprise between BirdLife Australia and AWSG, through funding from the AustralianGovernment’sCaringforourCountryand WWF-Australia.Theprimaryobjectives ofthe programaretocollectdataon thenumbers ofshorebirdsina manner thatcan beutilised toaid theirconservationand management,specificallylongandshort-termpopulationtrends,and explorewhatmaybecausing thosechanges.

Over thelast yeartheShorebirds2020teamhas beendevelopingamonitoringprogramfor shorebirdsinAustraliathatwillallowthemtodetectnationalpopulation trends, mapping importantshorebirdsareas,andputtingtogethera shorebirdcounters toolkit online.The main recommendationtocomeoutofthisworksofaristhattheteamneedstocountshorebirdsat moresites–around150–inorder tobeabletodetectpopulationtrendsatthenationallevelfor themajorityofshorebirdspecies. Formoreinformation visittheShorebirds 2020website.

ThesenewFSN sitescan besearched on thefollowinglinkwheretheFSN SiteInformation Sheets areplaced.WiththesetwodesignationsAustraliacontributestooneoftheEAAFP objectives containedin thePartnershipDocumentandtheImplementationStrategy2012-2016,whichisto achievethetarget of7-10newsitesperyear. SeeEighty-mileBeach and RoebuckBay SISs

CelebrateWorldMigratoryBirdDay2013:

Startingin2006,thesecondweekend of Mayis celebratedas WorldMigratoryBird Dayaroundtheworld.Itis anopportunity forpeopleto takeactionandorganisepublicevents suchas birdfestivals, education programmesand birdwatchingexcursions.WMBD 2013is thebiggestand mostwidelycelebrated globaldayfor positiveactionfor theconservation of migratorybirds.This year’stheme- Networkingfor migratory birds-highlights theimportance of networks of sites for migratorybirdsalongtheir migration routes. TheEAAFPSecretariatencourages ourpartnersalongthe 22countries,the internationalcommunity -governments, conservation organizationsanddedicated people alike – to work together to conserve migratory birds around the world.

The2013WorldMigratoryBirdDayPoster

highlightsafewofthethousandsofsites

importantforbird migration.Migratorybirdstravel hugedistancesalongtheir migrationroutes, sometimestensofthousandsofkilometres.Theseconnectedsitesactlike‘steppingstones’and areusedbybirds tomigrate. Theyareimportantforresting,feeding,breedingandwintering. DownloadWMBDlogo,posters,videos,statementsofEAAFPChiefExecutiveandothermaterials topromoteyouractivity. Visittodownload

Wewelcomeyoutoshare youractivityandjointheglobalcelebrationofWMBD.Thedeadlinefor

receivingactivityreportsis31stMay2013.Thereisnospecialform.Forspecificqueriesrelatedto

WMBD,contact:isitWMBDweb page

Incheon–WaterbirdParadise(InformationBrochure)published:

Incheon TidalFlatiscriticallyimportantfora largenumber of migratorywaterbirdsusingthe habitatfor feedingandrecuperationduringtheirlongjourneys, as wellas beingsupporting importantpopulations ofbreedingwaterbirdsdependenton thetidalflats.TheEAAFPSecretariat hasrecentlyproducedaninformationbrochure,entitledIncheon–WaterbirdParadiseincrease awareness,raisetheprofileandhighlighttheimportance ofIncheonTidal Flat. TheIncheonTidal Flat includes Ganghwado, Yeongjongdo, Songdo and other small rocky islands. It regularly supportsover20,000shorebirdsasastopoversiteand endangered species ofBlack-faced Spoonbill, Saunders’sGulland ChineseEgretasbreeding site.

Since2009,Black-faced Spoonbill hasbeen breeding atNamdong Reservoir,inside ofSongdocity, withover100pairsin 2012.NamdongReservoirisanartificialislandbuiltinanareaabandoned from mudflatreclamation.Despitethegrowing breedingpopulation,theirsurvivalremainsin question duetocontinuing reclamationof Songdotidal flats,their principal feeding grounds.

IncheonTidalFlatisalsoa globallyimportantbreedingforgloballythreatened Saunders’sGull(its onlybreedingsiteinKorea),andChineseEgret.Itisalsoacriticalstopoversite forlong-distance migratoryshorebirdsthatdependonthetidalflatsforacriticalperiodoftheirmigrationinspring

and autumn. In order todownload the electronicbrochure, visit here

ATotalof2,725Black-facedSpoonbills recordedinthe2013GlobalCensus, AccountingforanIncreaseof1.2%from2012:

Black-facedSpoonbillisathreatenedbirdspeciesof globalconcern.ItmainlyinhabitsEastAsia. Overthelastdecade,thenumberofBlack-facedSpoonbillshadshownanupwardtrendwitha recordtotalof2,725 birdsthis year,accounting for anincreaseof1.2%fromlastyear.

Proportionof winteringBlack-facedSpoonbill at differentlocations totheglobal totalin2013GlobalSynchronized Census

© HongKong BirdWatchingSociety

Mr.YU Yat-tung,Research Manager oftheHongKong BirdWatchingSociety,says“Therisein the numberofBlack-facedSpoonbillisnotsignificantthis yearandthetotalnumberremainssteady. WhilenumbershavedroppedinHong Kong,thereisacontinuingincreaseinboth thenumberand proportionoftheglobalpopulationwinteringinTaiwan.ThisistheresultofTaiwan’seffortsin wetland conservation. However,wehavebeen emphasizing in recentyearsthatitisindeed acrisis foralargenumberofBlack-facedSpoonbillstoaggregateinasinglelocation.Itisuncertainwhy thenumber ofBlack-facedSpoonbillrecordedinHongKongandShenzhenhasfalleninthree consecutiveyears.InHongKong,conservation workforBlack-facedSpoonbillhasbeen implementedforsometimetoits maturity,butthenumberofBlack-facedSpoonbilldrops continuously. On theotherhand,thenumber recorded in mainland China hasbeen increasing. Itis probably because the Black-faced Spoonbills, which originally travelled to Hong Kong, have recentlychangedtheirwintering habits.”

Inadditiontobeinga well-knownstarcreature of thewetlandintheeyes of thepublicinHong Kong,the Black-facedSpoonbillisalsoagloballythreatenedspecies.Toconserve thisrarespecies, numerousconservationintermediariesandgovernmentsin theregionhavecollaboratedto conservethehabitats ofBlack-faced Spoonbilland toundertake variousstudiessince1990s.A conservationactionplan ofBlack-faced Spoonbillwasinauguratedin 1995withrevisionsand updatesmadein 2010.Emphasisisontheestablishment ofmoreconservationareas, commissioning moredetailed surveysin theirbreeding groundsand strengthening regional collaboration.

Atpresent, habitatdestruction anddeteriorationremainas thebiggestthreattothesurvival of Black-facedSpoonbill. Developmentprojectshavebeenundertakenin manycoastalareas,suchas inSouthKorea,Macau,Fujian,ZhejiangandHainan.Illegalpoachingactivitiesarestillobservedin

somelocations.Forinstance,atotal of5Black-faced Spoonbillswerefoundandconfiscatedina restaurantin northern Vietnamin December2010.TheDeep Bayareain Hong Kong isunderhuge pressurefordevelopment.Assuch,theconservationofBlack-facedSpoonbillstillhasalongway togotoassurethefuture of thespecies.

Since2003, theHongKongBirdWatchingSocietyhas coordinatedtheglobalpopulationcensus of Black-facedSpoonbill.This year’scensuswasheldon 11-13January2013withtheparticipationof over100volunteers,recordingatotalof2,725Black-facedSpoonbills,32morethanlastyear’s total of 2,693birds(ariseof 1.2%),reachinganewpopulationhigh.Inthiscensus,Taiwan remained thelargestwinteringsiteforBlack-facedSpoonbill with1,593birdsrecorded.Whilethe numbersrecordedin mainlandChinaandTaiwanincreased,thoseinDeep Bayarea(between ShenzhenandHongKong)andJapanplummeted.A summaryofthecensusresultsisappended below:

•Atotalof2,725birdswererecordedin2013census,whichis32birdsmorethan2,693birds recordedin2012,ariseof1.2%,alsoanincreaseof48.2%from1,839birdsasrecordedin

2011;

•Thelargestwinteringpopulationwith1,624birdswasfoundinTaiwan,accountingfor59.6% oftheglobalpopulation,62birdshigherthanthetotalin2012,accountingforariseof4%, alsoariseof94.7%from834birdsin2011;

• HongKongandShenzhenrecorded351birdsintotal,whichis42birdsfewerthan393birdsin

2012,accountingforafall of10.7%,also60birdsfewerthanthatin 2011,accountingforafall of 14.6%;

• Ariseinthenumberby10.7%wasnotedincoastalareaofmainlandChina,from328birdsin

2012to363 birdsin thisyear,a riseof 83.3%from198birdsrecordedin 2011;

•IncreaseswereobservedinmainlandChina,TaiwanandVietnam,whiledecreaseswerenoted in DeepBay,Macau,Japanand South Korea.

Locations includedinthiscensusincludeSouth Korea,Japan,Shanghai,Zhejiang,Fujian, Guangdong,Hainan,Taiwan,KongKongShenzhen,Macau,Vietnam,thePhilippines,Thailand and Cambodia.

ThisSocietywouldliketotakethis opportunitytothankallregional organizationsandvolunteers fortheirparticipationinthecensus,contributingtothesmoothconduct ofthis censusthroughout all yearsand thereforebetterconservation ofBlack-facedSpoonbill in theregion.Wearealso indebted toSchmidtMarketing (HK)Ltd for sponsoringpart oftheexpensesincurred.

Black-facedSpoonbillNestEventheldatNamdongReservoirinSongdo,Incheon:

On16March,the KoreaFederation of EnvironmentMovementIncheon(KFEMIncheon) organiseda Black-facedSpoonbill eventtocollect fallenwoodybranches andtransportthemtothe artificialislandinNamdongReservoirtohelpthe birdsmaketheirnests.Itwasalsoanopportunity

toremovetrash fromtheedges ofthereservoirand the vicinityof theisland.

Over200participantsincludingstudents,theirparents,IncheonNGOsandIncheongovernment officialstookpartin thehalfdayprogram.TherewerebrieftalksfromDr.Kisup Leefrom Korea WetlandNetwork,Ms.Seon-jeongNam,IncheonTeachers Moim, Mr.Hyeong-moon Kim,Black- faced Spoonbill Island Peopleand Mr.Joo-won Seoand Ms.Hyeo-kyeongLee,KFEMIncheon on breedingandwinteringstatusandmainthreatstobirds.SinceNamdongReservoiris only5kms away fromthe Secretariat office, EAAFPSecretariat staffalsoattendedtosupport the initiative– mostly young students- and Spike Millington made a short speech on how geographically importanttheSongdoandIncheonsitesarefor Black-facedSpoonbillasbreedingareasin theEast Asian–AustralasianFlywayandhownationalandinternationalcollaborationis neededtoprotect birdsand conservetheir habitats.

The Black-faced Spoonbill is designated as a globally endangered species under IUCN and nationallyVulnerableunderMinistryofEnvironmentKorea.Itbreedsonisletsoffthewestcoast ofthe KoreanpeninsulaandLiaoning provinceinChina.Themostimportantbreedingareasin IncheonareIncheon-GeonggiTidalFlatincludingGaksirack, Yo-do(Yeokseom),Suribonginthe southoftheGanghwaand NamdongReserviorinSongdo.Theseareassupportalmost500pairs. Apartfrom otherbreedingareas,Namdong Reservoirsupportsan annuallyincreasingnumber of pairs:from6pairsin 2009 to120pairsin2012.Thetidalflats ofGanghwa,YeongjongandSongdo aretheprincipalfeedinggrounds.Thetotalworldpopulationisestimatedatabout2,700birds now,whichindicateshowimportanttheIncheonareais,withmorethanonethirdofthetotal population residenthereinthesummermonths.

EAAFPSpoon-billed SandpiperTaskForceNewsletterforNo.9February2013 published:

TheEAAFPSpoon-billed Sandpiper TaskForce(SBS TF)has been published its ninth newsletter in February2013. Inthis newsletter,wepresent updatesof autumnsurveys inChina including Rudongand winter updatefromSouth Korea andsharesomeother actvitiesfromBangladesh, Myanmar,SriLankaand Russia.

TheSpoon-billedSandpiperRecoveryTeam(SBSRT)joinedwiththeEAAFPtobettercoordinate theconservationactivities alongtheentireflywayandwasofficiallyendorsedbytheEAAFPasa speciesTask Force(SBSTF)under theShorebird working group in December 2010.

2012Black-facedSpoonbillFestival,Songdo,RepublicofKorea:

The2012Black-facedSpoonbillFestivalwasheldinSongdo,Incheon,RepublicofKorea,onthe

22nd of December2012,organized bytheIncheonOfficeoftheKoreanFederationfor EnvironmentalMovementandYeonsu-guOffice.Thefestival wasopentoeveryone,andattracted severalhundred people.TheBlack-faced SpoonbillFestivalaimsatteaching youngsterssomebird- watchingbasicswhileeducatingcitizensabouttheconservationandimportanceoftheBlack- facedSpoonbill.TheIncheonareasupports over90% ofallbreedingBlack-facedSpoonbills,which aredependentontidalflatsintheIncheonareaforfeeding.Theyouthforumbeganinthe morningandendedbynoon.Itwasfollowedbyparticipationsessionsintheafternoon.There

wereseveralinteresting experienceprogramsforcitizens,for examplesmakingBlack-faced Spoonbilleco-bags,makingcookies,foldingpapersintotheshapeofablack-facedspoonbill, fittingtogetherpuzzlepieces,takingpictureswithBlack-facedSpoonbillmodels,etc. TheEAAFP Secretariatwasinvitedtotheevent,setupabooth,andpromoteditseffortsintheconservation oftheBlack-facedSpoonbillsanditsleadershipininternationalcooperation ofthetwenty-two countriesthat makeup theEastAsian –AustralasianFlyway,includingAustralia,EastAsian countries,NewZealand,Russia and theUnited States.

TheEAAFPSecretariatencouragesPartnersto voluntarilyproducetranslatedversionsofthe EAAFPnewslettersothat EAAFPactivitiesandissuescanbewidelydisseminatedtoabroader audience.This helps raiseawareness ofEAAFPatnationallevelthat canfosternational partnershipsto conservemigratorywaterbirds,theirhabitatsandthelivelihoodofpeople dependentuponthem.Visit todownload in wordthisnewsletterinMS wordformatfor translation ( )

Forfurtherinformationandcontact:

EAAFPSecretariat

1905Gae-PearlTower, 12Gaetbeol-ro,Yeonsu-gu,Incheon406-840TheRepublic ofKorea

Tel:+82322603000~5, 3010

Fax:+82322603009

Email: Website:

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