Enhancing conservation of the critical network of sites required by Migratory Waterbirds on the African/Eurasian Flyways

Migratory waterbirds are an important component of biodiversity that migrate annually along predictable flyway routes in the African/Eurasian landmass. The principal habitats that these species require to complete their life cycle are wetlands, many of which are being seriously degraded, representing a significant and continuing threat to the maintenance of sustainable migratory waterbird populations.

A major barrier to effective wetland conservation is the lack of technical and management capacity throughout the region to manage sites and species at a flyway scale. Therefore the project’s goal is to strengthen strategic capacity to plan and manage the conservation of migratory waterbirds and the critical sites along their flyways. Strategic and catalytic activities will be undertaken in three main areas; (i) improved access to flyway scale species and site information to assist in the protective designation, management and conservation of critically important wetlands; (ii) establishment of the basis for the enhancement of technical and decision making capacity; and (iii) the enhancement of communications capacity for flyway stakeholders at the technical and decision-making level.

Key outputs that will result from the project are a site network tool to assist in the management of critically important wetlands, four sub-regionally focused training and awareness raising programmes, eleven demonstrations of site-based best practice management of wetlands and an exchange programme for flyway practitioners.