Waterbirds around the world

A global overview of the conservation, management and research of the

world's waterbird flyways

Edited by G.C. Boere, C.A. Galbraith and D.A. Stroud

Assisted by L.K. Bridge, I. Colquhoun, D.A. Scott,

D.B.A. Thompson and L.G. Underhill

EDINBURGH, UK: THE STATIONERY OFFICE

Extract only - complete publication at www.jncc.gov.uk/worldwaterbirds

© Scottish Natural Heritage 2006

First published in 2006 by The Stationery Office Limited71 Lothian Road, Edinburgh EH3 9AZ, UK.

Applications for reproduction should be made to Scottish Natural Heritage,Great Glen House, Leachkin Road, Inverness IV3 8NW, UK.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication DataA catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 0 11 497333 4

Recommended citation:Boere, G.C., Galbraith, C.A. & Stroud, D.A. (eds). 2006.

Waterbirds around the world. The Stationery Office, Edinburgh, UK. 960 pp.

Names used for geographical entities do not imply recognition, by the organisers of the Waterbirds around the world conference or othersupporting organisations or governments, of the political status or boundaries of any particular territory. Names of territories used (andany alternatives) are included solely to help users of this publication apply information contained within this volume for waterbird conservation purposes. The views expressed in papers included within this volume do not necessarily represent views of the editorsor the organisations and governments that supported the conference and this publication.

Cover photography: Whooper Swans Cygnus cygnus arriving at Martin Mere, England. Photo: Paul Marshall.

(www.paulmarshallphotography.com)

Copyright of all photographs used in this publication resides with the named photographers.

Extract only - complete publication at www.jncc.gov.uk/worldwaterbirds

ABSTRACTThe Asian Waterbird Census (AWC) provides the most compre-hensive monitoring programme for waterbirds in the Asia-Pacificregion. It was initiated in 1987 as an integral part of theInternational Waterbird Census, and is co-ordinated by WetlandsInternational. Since the establishment of the AWC, more than5 700 sites across 26 countries have been counted at least once,and this has involved the active participation of thousands ofvolunteers. This regional census has close links with a number ofcomprehensive national schemes that are undertaken in Januaryand at other times of the year. These include the long-runningshorebird monitoring programme in Australia, the censuses ofAnatidae and shorebirds in Japan, and waterbird counts in HongKong. The AWC also has close links with the international moni-toring programme for the Black-faced Spoonbill Platalea minor.Countries within the Asia-Pacific region have occasionally organ-ized censuses of waterbirds at site level, and the Arctic breedinggrounds of many migratory waterbirds are being monitoredthrough an extensive annual International Breeding ConditionsSurvey. This paper provides an overview of the ongoing moni-toring schemes; it identifies present weaknesses, and recom-mends various measures that should be taken to improve themonitoring of waterbirds throughout the region.

INTRODUCTIONMigratory waterbirds are one of the most remarkable compo-nents of global biodiversity. Their long migrations and tendencyto concentrate in large numbers on particular wetlands makethem both visible and charismatic. They are important indicatorsof the ecological condition and productivity of wetland

ecosystems, and their presence is widely valued by numerousstakeholders including local human populations, tourists, associ-ated enterprises and research biologists throughout the world.They also offer many opportunities for using wetlands on asustainable basis, particularly through eco-tourism.

Many species of waterbirds are relatively easy to countbecause at certain times of the year they occur in conspicuousconcentrations. No other group of birds has been so comprehen-sively and frequently surveyed. There is a strong tradition inEurope and North America, and a growing tradition in other partsof the world, of using long-term waterbird census data as a basisfor estimating the sizes and trends of waterbird populations.

This paper provides a brief overview of waterbird moni-toring programmes in the Asia-Pacific region. It identifies gapsin coverage of the existing programmes, and recommends anumber of way in which these programmes could be improvedto achieve more effective monitoring of migratory waterbirdsthroughout the Asia-Pacific flyways.

ASIAN WATERBIRD CENSUS IntroductionThe Asian Waterbird Census (AWC) was initiated in 1987 and runsin parallel with other waterbird censuses carried out in Africa,Europe, central and western Asia, and Latin America under theumbrella of the International Waterbird Census (IWC), which isco-ordinated by Wetlands International. The IWC is the largest andlongest-running international monitoring programme of animals inthe world (although some national programmes are older).

The IWC (and thus the AWC) aims to contribute to theconservation of waterbirds and their habitats by:

• providing the basis for estimates of waterbird populations;• monitoring changes in waterbird numbers and distribution

by regular, standardized counts at representative wetlands;• improving knowledge of little-known waterbird species and

wetland sites;• identifying and monitoring networks of sites that are impor-

tant for waterbirds and, in particular, identifying and moni-toring sites that qualify as Wetlands of InternationalImportance under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands;

• providing information on the conservation status of water-bird species for use by international agreements; and

• increasing awareness of the importance of waterbirds and theirwetland habitats at local, national and international levels.

The AWC also aims to build and strengthen national networksof enthusiastic volunteers and facilitate their training. It takes placeonce a year, during the second and third weeks of January. Thecensus was initiated in 1987 on the Indian subcontinent, and hasgrown rapidly to cover most countries in southern and eastern Asia,

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Monitoring waterbirds in the Asia-Pacific region

David Li Zuo Wei & Taej MundkurWetlands International, 3A39, Block A, Lobby C, Kelana Centre Point, Jalan SS7/19, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, 47301, Malaysia.(email: david@wiap.nasionet.net)

Li, Z.W.D. & Mundkur, T. 2006. Monitoring waterbirds in the Asia-Pacific region. Waterbirds around the world. Eds. G.C. Boere,C.A. Galbraith & D.A. Stroud. The Stationery Office, Edinburgh, UK. pp. 339-342.

Fig. 1. Regional coverage of the Asian Waterbird Census (AWC).

as well as Australasia (Fig. 1). A total of 5 700 sites in 26 countrieshave been counted at least once since 1987. The data collected bythe AWC have been used in various reports and contribute to arange of conservation activities from local to global level (Fig. 2).

Results of AWC: 1997-2001The results of the AWC from 1997 to 2001 have been summa-rized by Li & Mundkur (2004) as follows:

• A total of 1 392 sites in 22 countries were covered at leastonce, including a total of 61 internationally importantwetlands listed under the Ramsar Convention, 32 MigratoryWaterbird Network Sites in the East Asian–AustralasianFlyway, and 43 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in Cambodia,Lao PDR, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam (as at 31 December 2003). The highest count was in 2001, when 4 571 522 birds were recorded at a total of 770 sites;

• Eighty-two sites in 10 countries (about 6% of the totalnumber of sites counted) were reported to support more than 20 000 birds;

• In total, 291 species of waterbirds and 15 species of wetland-dependent raptors (birds of prey) were recorded. Thirty-seven of these species are listed as globally threatened byBirdLife International (2004). They include three CriticallyEndangered, 12 Endangered and 23 Vulnerable species.Thirty-one of the globally threatened species are restricted tothe region covered by the AWC. In addition, 16 NearThreatened species were recorded; and

• One hundred and forty-five species recorded during thecensus are listed in the Appendices to the Convention onMigratory Species; 26 species are listed by the Conventionon International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Faunaand Flora (CITES).

Li & Mundkur (2004) found, however, that it was still diffi-cult to determine population sizes and trends for most species ofwaterbirds in the Asia-Pacific region on the basis of data avail-able from the AWC, because of inconsistent coverage of sites insome countries.

Future development of the AWC: a strategy for 2004-2006In order to improve the AWC to meet the needs of waterbird andwetland conservation, a strategy has been developed to guide thedevelopment of the AWC during the period 2004-2006(Wetlands International 2003). The objectives of the strategyinclude the following:

• enhance geographic and site coverage of the AWC;• improve the quality of AWC data to achieve the aim of moni-

toring of waterbird populations;• enhance communication amongst AWC co-ordinators and

the networks of counters;• develop training, communication and public awareness

programmes for the AWC;• develop a fundraising strategy for the AWC, and to seek

funding opportunities to support its development; • support improved decision making and policy development

on waterbird and wetland conservation at international andnational levels through enhanced use of AWC data; and

• develop a co-ordination mechanism for the AWC.

INTERNATIONAL BLACK-FACED SPOONBILL CENSUS In 1993, Tom Dahmer initiated an international census of theBlack-faced Spoonbill Platalea minor, a globally threatenedspecies confined to eastern Asia and listed as Endangered byBirdLife International (2004). This is the only single-speciesmonitoring programme for a waterbird in the Asia-Pacificregion. The Hong Kong Bird Watching Society has taken overresponsibility for the International Black-faced SpoonbillCensus since 2003. The results of the census show an apparentincrease in numbers from only 294 birds during a preliminarysurvey in January 1989 to at least 1 206 birds in January 2004(Yu 2004; see Fig. 3).

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Fig. 2. The contribution of the Asian Waterbird Census to national and

international conservation frameworks.

Key: Ramsar – Convention on Wetlands; CMS – Convention on

Migratory Species; CBD – Convention on Biological Diversity; IBA –

BirdLife International’s Important Bird Areas programme; GTB –

IUCN/BirdLife International’s Globally Threatened Birds Update

programme; WPE – Wetlands International’s Waterbird Population

Estimates programme.

Fig. 3. Total counts of wintering Black-faced Spoonbills Platalea minor:

1989-2004.

INTERNATIONAL ARCTIC BIRDS BREEDING CONDITIONS SURVEY (ABBCS) The International Arctic Birds Breeding Conditions Survey(ABBCS) is a joint project of the International Wader StudyGroup and the Goose and Swan Specialist Groups of WetlandsInternational. The project aims at collating information on

environmental conditions on the breeding grounds of birdsnesting in the Arctic. Data on bird numbers and breedingperformance during the Arctic summer are analyzed in relationto climatic factors and predation levels. Information is availableonline on waterbird breeding success, rodent abundance andcertain weather characteristics in the Arctic for the summers of1992 to 2003 inclusive. Information is available for 83 sites inthe summer of 2002 (Soloviev & Tomkovich 2003).

NATIONAL AND SUB-NATIONAL MONITORING PROGRAMMESShorebird monitoring programme in AustraliaIn 1981, the Australasian Wader Studies Group began regularcounts of shorebirds (waders) at a selection of 23 sites inFebruary and June (Gosbell 2003). The results of the countshave been used in estimating population trends in shorebirds.Cannon-netting is providing data from re-traps and informationon the proportion of juveniles in the populations to supplementthe counting programme. Additional information is beingobtained from the re-sighting of birds marked with flags.

Waterbird counts in Hong Kong Regular waterbird censuses in Hong Kong include monthlywaterbird counts, heron and egret counts, and shorebird counts.The synchronized monthly waterbird counts are undertakenthroughout the year by voluntary waterbird counters at assignedsites; the January count coincides with the AWC. Counts ofherons and egrets are carried out every year at the breedingcolonies, where the numbers of nests are also counted. Shorebirdcounts are carried out throughout the year by professional coun-ters, the main aim of this programme being to monitor the usageof the Mai Po Ramsar site by shorebirds.

Anatidae and shorebird censuses in JapanAn Anatidae monitoring programme was initiated in Japan in1971. A nation-wide census is undertaken in mid-January everyyear, and covers all species of Anatidae. The counts are co-ordi-nated by Prefecture governments, and the annual nationalreports are compiled by the Ministry of Environment. Since1989, the data have been digitized and stored in the JapanIntegrated Biodiversity Information System (J-IBIS).

The shorebird monitoring programme started in 2000. Threesurveys are conducted each year: during the northward migra-tion, during the southward migration, and in winter. Thecensuses are undertaken by WWF-Japan with financial supportfrom the Ministry of Environment. The results of the shorebirdcensuses have been published in a range of survey reports.

OTHER WATERBIRD SURVEYSOther waterbird surveys in the Asia-Pacific region have includedthe following:

• surveys undertaken by governments at national and locallevel;

• surveys conducted at regional, national and local level aspart of various on-going wetland and waterbird projects;

• surveys conducted by specialist groups in the implementa-tion of the three Actions Plans for the conservation ofAnatidae, cranes and shorebirds, respectively, in the EastAsian-Australasian Flyway; and

• surveys conducted by groups or individuals with an interestin a particular species or group of species.

DISCUSSIONThe monitoring of waterbirds in the Asia-Pacific regioncontinues to suffer from a number of deficiencies:

• the AWC is unable to fulfil its role in monitoring the popu-lation sizes and trends of waterbirds during the non-breedingseason for several reasons. Site coverage is poor and incon-sistent in some countries, and the data received from somecounters are of poor quality. Important sites that are notpopular for counters, or are difficult to access, are oftenomitted, while some of the commoner waterbird species, aswell as some little-known species, are often not well moni-tored. Furthermore, there is often a lack of financial supportfor activities at national level;

• comprehensive national waterbird monitoring programmesare not being undertaken by developing countries due tofunding constraints and limited capacity;

• the ABBCS programme covers only a limited part of thebreeding grounds of migratory waterbirds, and informationon the breeding populations of waterbirds breeding outsidethe Arctic is not being collected in a comprehensive and co-ordinated manner;

• there are no regular ongoing monitoring programmes atmost of the important staging areas, and comprehensiveinformation on these sites is lacking; and

• surveys at national and site level are conducted irregularly.The results of many surveys are not readily accessible as thedata are often published only in the local language, or are notpublished at all and remain widely dispersed.

RECOMMENDATIONS The following measures should be taken to improve the effec-tiveness of monitoring programmes for waterbirds in the Asia-Pacific region:

1 promote the application of the Asian Waterbird Census as aflagship programme for monitoring waterbird populationsand trends;

2 implement the AWC Strategy 2004-2006 to enhancecoverage of the census, build local capacity and improvedata quality;

3 extend the AWC to cover the island nations of the Pacific; 4 promote the Black-faced Spoonbill Census as one tool to

enhance coverage of the AWC in countries throughout therange of this species;

5 complement the coverage of the ABBCS to monitor popula-tions of migratory waterbirds in all breeding areas in theregion;

6 encourage the establishment of comprehensive monitoringprogrammes for migratory waterbirds at important stagingareas in the flyway;

7 identify sites of international and national importance(Important Bird Areas, Ramsar sites, network sites, nationalparks, etc.) that should be given high priority in monitoringprogrammes;

8 strengthen co-operation between institutions and organiza-tions to promote greater sharing of information on water-

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birds and wetlands, and establish appropriate co-ordinationmechanisms to facilitate comprehensive monitoring ofwaterbirds throughout the region;

9 improve current monitoring programmes to assess the statusof wetlands and waterbirds at different times of the year;

10 produce and regularly update flyway atlases for waterbirdgroups to promote awareness of the importance of sites forconservation;

11 increase the resources available for local, national andregional waterbird monitoring networks to improve thecollection and collation of information and effective dissem-ination and use of outputs; and

12 ensure that land-use and management decisions are beingbased on the best information available.

REFERENCESBirdLife International 2004. Threatened Birds of the World

2004. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK. CD-ROM.Gosbell, K. 2003. Shorebird Monitoring in Australia. Report to

the first Meeting of Asian Waterbird Census Co-ordinators, 9-10 October 2003. Unpublished report.

Li, Z. W. D. & Mundkur, T. 2004. Numbers and distribution ofwaterbirds and wetlands in the Asia-Pacific region.Results of the Asian Waterbird Census: 1997-2001.Wetlands International, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Soloviev, M. & Tomkovich, P. (compilers). 2003. Arctic Birds5 (2003). Newsletter of International BreedingConditions Survey.

Wetlands International 2003. Strategy for Development of theAsian Waterbird Census: 2004-2006. WetlandsInternational, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Unpublishedreport.

Yu, Y.T. 2004. International Black-faced Spoonbill Census: 16-18January 2004. The Hong Kong Bird Watching Society,Hong Kong.

USEFUL WEB-SITESAsian Waterbird Census (AWC):www.wetlands.org/IWC/awc/awcmain.html.Australian shorebird monitoring programme:www.tasweb.com.au/awsg/index.htm.Black-faced Spoonbill Census:www.hkbws.org.hk/waterbird/bfs.html.Hong Kong waterbird counts:www.hkbws.org.hk/waterbird/index.html.International Arctic Birds Breeding Conditions Survey(ABBCS): www.arcticbirds.ru.Japan Integrated Biodiversity Information System (J-IBIS):ww.biodic.go.jp.

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Counting shorebirds from a high vantage point at Yalu Jiang National Nature Reserve in the Yellow Sea, Liaoning Province, China. Photo: Mark Barter.