New publication stresses need for more international action to save migratory waterbirds

Waterbirds around the world – released today, is a new groundbreaking publication on the plight of the world’s waterbirds, which shows that more action needs to be taken by all countries to conserve these animals.

The Hague/Bonn, 12 March 2007 – A major assessment on the status of the world’s waterbirds was welcomed today by the heads of the UNEP Convention on Migratory Species and the UNEP African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement at its launch by the Dutch and UK Environment Ministers in The Hague, Netherlands.

Waterbirds around the world, gives an insight into the current state of knowledge on waterbirds, their migration routes and ongoing international efforts to conserve them. It includes a large number of conservation studies from around the world, which address the wide range of factors that currently threaten waterbird populations: loss and degradation of wetland habitats; climate change; disease; and unsustainable use including impacts of disturbance.

“This book represents the state-of-the-art of our collective knowledge on waterbirds and their flyways. However, during the course of our day to day work on Avian Influenza it became clear that even our current knowledge reflects only the tip of an iceberg: we need to gain far more detailed knowledge of the migration routes of these species. This knowledge will also be of extreme importance for us to put into place the right mitigation measures to help reduce the negative impact climate change will have on the world’s waterbirds” says Bert Lenten, the Executive Secretary of AEWA – the international treaty dedicated to the conservation of migratory waterbirds in Africa and Eurasia.

Waterbirds around the world is a landmark publication comprising 264 papers and reviews relating to 614 waterbird species from 162 countries. It includes new data on 170 globally and near-threatened species and their habitats and addresses related topics such as the management of flyways, the impact of climate change and avian influenza. The book also documents numerous success stories and examples of conservation best practice and emphasizes the need for more concerted international action by countries to protect these species.

“The book is a major achievement, providing hard evidence for the need for international flyway-scale waterbird conservation along all the world’s major flyways. AEWA and the other specialized international treaties operating under the umbrella of the Convention on Migratory Species enable countries to work together to conserve a wide range of migratory animals, including waterbirds in a very focussed way.” says Robert Hepworth, the Executive Secretary of the global Convention on Migratory Species.

Work on the Waterbirds around the world publication commenced at the Global Flyways Conference in Edinburgh in April 2004. The conference, which was supported by both UNEP/CMS and UNEP/AEWA was the largest international gathering on the topic ever, bringing together more than 450 conservation scientists and practitioners from 90 countries. One of the major outcomes of the conference was the so-called Edinburgh Declaration, which highlights the urgent need for increased conservation efforts for waterbird species and key sites on all flyways.

Waterbirds around the world follows up on this historic conference and further underlines some of the conclusions and recommendations made in the Edinburgh Declaration. Furthermore, the book gives scientific evidence regarding the critical state of the worlds wetlands and waterbird species and includes additional proposals for future national and international action.

The report makes it very clear that all countries will have to re-double their efforts to fully implement these international treaties and do more to protect migratory waterbirds in order to achieve the 2010 biodiversity target for the world’s waterbirds.

Further Information:

Speech by the Netherlands’ Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, Ms. Gerda Verburg

Joint Nature Conservation Committee webpage on the WAW Publication (with electronic abstracts)

Wetlands International Press Release on WAW (12 March 2007)

BirdLife International Press Release on WAW (12 March 2007)

How to order a copy of "Waterbirds around the world" (from The Stationery Office)

BBC NEWS - In pictures: The World's waterbirds (21 March 2007)