IRREPLACEABLE
RECLAMATION OF HOPE
IN THE
YELLOW SEA
Over sixty organisations across the world have come together with China and
made a huge advance in protecting this internationally important area for birds,
demonstrating the immense power of collaboration
hat do the Taj Mahal, Machu Picchu
and a stretch of mudflats on the
coast of China all have in common?
Well, as of this year, they have all
been listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites
– areas of significant cultural, historical or
scientific interest. While long-term supporters
know of the importance of this site, a casual
onlooker might wonder how these (subjectively)
uninspiring mudflats stack up with such grand
and imposing feats of cultural architecture.
The answer is that the Yellow Sea lies at the
centre of the East Asian–Australasian Flyway,
between China and the Korean peninsula. It acts
as a ‘service station’ on this migratory super-
highway, and supports the world’s greatest
overall numbers, diversity, and number of
W
20
Cressida Stevens
Dalmatian Pelican
Pelecanus crispus
Photo Sue Cro / Flickr
0
threatened species of migratory waterbirds.
Dalmatian Pelicans Pelecanus crispus, Far
Eastern Curlews Numenius madagascariensis,
Great Knots Calidris tenuirostris and many
others touch down here to rest and refuel, with
good reason – invertebrate nutrition is abundant
here. Succulent shrimp, snails and clams are all
on the menu, and for hungry birds depleted of
energy in the midst of their migration, it is an
offer that keeps them coming back year on year.
The mudflats come alive when birds
congregate to replenish their reserves before
continuing their journeys. Some as much as
double their weight, gorging themselves on the
Yellow Sea’s cuisine. But this consumer loyalty
is a problem for birds when increasingly, their
favourite eateries are being shut down and
BIRDLIFE • OCT-DEC 2019