Conserving migratory species – Decision Point Online

Eastern curlews (Numenius madagascariensis) migrate each year from the
Arctic to Australia, stopping to refuel at tidal flats across the East Asian-
Australasian Flyway. The species has recently been listed as nationally
threatened, and habitats across its migration and non-breeding range are
vulnerable to degradation and loss through declines in prey, reclamation,
changes in sedimentation patterns and sea level rise. Managing these
multiple interacting threats requires conservation actions that take account
of migratory connectivity, and that operate in many countries across the
Flyway. One important conservation initiative has been the formation of the
East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership, an alliance of 30 governments
and NGOs working across the region. The Partnership has already listed a
network of more than 100 important sites across the Flyway in 16 countries.
(Photo © Dean Ingwersen)

The multiple challenges of planning for complex migratory networks Migratory species are pretty amazing. Some species travel vast distances in a single migration. An individual bar-tailed godwit, a migratory wading bird, was once tracked as travelling an incredible 11,000 km in a single flight! Arctic terns travel the equivalent of to the Moon and back … Continue reading Conserving migratory species