At the 10th Meeting of the Partners to the East Asian – Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP MoP10) in Hainan, China, a total of eight new Flyway Network Sites was announced. These sites are from Bangladesh, DPR Korea, Myanmar, New Zealand, RO Korea. There are now 141 EAAFP Flyway Network Sites and collectively, these sites formed a critical network for conserving important sites of migratory waterbirds.
About 1060 important sites have been identified as being internationally important for migratory waterbirds along the East Asian – Australasian Flyway (EAAF), which is one of nine major migratory waterbird flyways around the globe and is home to over 50 million migratory waterbirds . The Flyway Site Network refers to the network of important sites for migratory waterbirds, and these sites were prioritized sites for waterbirds designated by national government Partners of the EAAFP.
Dr. Lew Young (Chief Executive, EAAFP) said that, “The designation of Flyway Network Sites is just the beginning of the long-term process for the sustainable management of the site important for migratory waterbirds in the East Asian – Australasian Flyway. After designation, the sites need to work closely with the local community to develop and implement a management plan for the site. This includes conducting activities such as raising awareness about the importance of the site, and to conduct regular monitoring of the status of the waterbird populations as well as the site condition.”
Mr. Cheol Mo Seo , Mayor of Hwaseong City said “After designation as a Flyway Network Site (FNS), the Hwaseong Wetlands received more attention at the national and international levels. In addition, we have more opportunities to share our experiences with other FNS in the network. For example, holding capacity building workshops for national FNS managers and to collate and disseminate good practices for the management of wetlands, even from outside of RO Korea such as China and Australia. ”
In order to strengthen the connection among Flyway Site Network, the EAAFP established Sister Site arrangements to promote collaborative activities involving FNS. As from Sept 2018, there are eight Sister Site arrangements.
Ms. Shufen Yang, FNS manager from Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve (EAAF 073) with Sister Site arrangements also expressed, “through establishing ‘sister sites’ with FNS like Shanghai Chongming Dongtan and Yubu-do Tidal Flat, we get to strengthen our conservation efforts by collaborating with fellow site managers in management, research and education. These mutual connections allow us to reach out to other stakeholders on the flyway, increasing our linked networks and pool our resources.”