IRREPLACEABLE
Spoon-billed Sandpiper
Calidris pygmaea
Photo Shutterstock
repurposed for human development. When the
wetlands are destroyed, the birds know nowhere
else to go. 4
Land reclamation is responsible for destroying
about two thirds of the Yellow Sea’s wetlands,
placing it as Endangered on the IUCN Red List
of Ecosystems. This destruction is driven by
creation of land for farming and other industries.
In recent years, campaigns from scientists and
conservation groups have been proclaiming
the international significance of these mudflats.
Research shows that migratory birds who rely
on these sites to break up their spring and
autumn migrations are declining at a faster rate
than those that stop by only once each year.
Since at least 17 of the migratory shorebirds that
rely on the area are globally threatened, this is a
big cause for concern.
Therefore, the decision of the World Heritage
Committee to list key sites along China’s Yellow
Sea coastline is great cause for celebration.
This will give the sites recognition of their
irreplaceable ecological importance and
protection by law under international treaties.
A fantastic outcome, and one that was hard
fought over several years.
The issue was passed from the scientists to
the media, to the politicians and government
officials and in 2017, China nominated 14
Yellow Sea coastal sites for World Heritage
status. One site –Tiaozini – is particularly
crucial in playing host to significant populations
of two Endangered species: 80% of Spotted
Greenshanks Tringa guttifer and 40% of Spoon-
billed Sandpipers Calidris pygmaea rely on
this site during their migrations. Following
nomination, the process required all sorts of
complex analytical data and requirements to be
fulfilled. But China did not just sit back and wait.
In the meantime, the nation took a momentous
step forward at the start of 2018, banning any 0
OCT-DEC 2019 • BIRDLIFE
Great Knot
Calidris tenuirostris
Photo Laurie Boyle / Flickr
B I R D
F A C T F I L E
FAR EASTERN
CURLEW
Numenius
madagascariensis
RED LIST STATUS:
Endangered
RANGE: Northeast and
Southeast Asia, down to
Australia
THREATS: Primarily
habitat loss at its
migratory stopover sites,
also direct persecution,
disturbance
FAST FACT: Said to have
the joint longest bill of
all curlews
further ‘business-related’ reclamation of land
along the Yellow Sea’s tidal flats. This bold step
immediately took some of the pressure off and
demonstrated China’s commitment in doing all
it takes to turn the situation around.
But back to the World Heritage listing. The
case was passed to the IUCN, which carries
out technical reviews for these nominations,
and devastatingly, they recommended
the case to be deferred. The situation was
severe. Ecologists the world over knew that
the Yellow Sea sites were on the edge, and
consequently, so were its avian visitors. It
was then that BirdLife International rallied the
support of 62 conservation organisations and
representatives globally (including many of our
Partners) to plead the case at the 43rd meeting
of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee
in Azerbaijan. Thanks to the huge amount of
support and China’s proven commitment to
the cause, the committee voted unanimously
in favour of inscribing the Tiaozini shoals.
Attention must now turn to ensuring the other
13 nominated sites follow suit.
This decision is a win for many. Not just the
birds that rely on the Yellow Sea sites, but also
the nations along the flyway and the people
who enjoy these species, as part of a shared
and collective natural heritage. China has set
an inspiring example and BirdLife International
stands ready to support other nations across
the flyway in their efforts to further conserve
biodiversity. The 15th Conference of the
Parties of the United Nation’s Convention for
Biological Diversity will be held in China in 2020.
The leadership of this nation will be critical
in delivering a comprehensive new vision for
the conservation of biodiversity – and the
nomination of the Yellow Sea underscores what
that new vision should represent.
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