North America

South America

Africa

Arctic

Atlantic

North America

South America

Asia

Europe

Africa

• Each year many millions

of shorebirds migrate from

northern breeding grounds to

wintering areas in the South.

Many travel more than 10,000

kilometres.

• These birds rely on a chain

of high quality coastal sites

to feed and rest. Even the

loss of one site can seriously

affect a whole population.

• Coastal sites are also im-

portant for people, providing

livelihoods and economic

development. Unsustainable

human activities such as

poorly planned infrastructure

development and over-fishing

decrease the quality of sites,

for birds and people.

• Many shorebird populations

in our flyway are in strong

decline.

The East Atlantic Flyway

Thousands of people, organi-

sations and governments

along the flyway contribute

to the conservation of

migratory birds and the sites

on which they depend.

Highlights include:

• Monitoring of birds and

sites, from the Wadden Sea to

Southern Africa.

• Identification of conserva-

tion priorities.

• National Species Action

Plans developed for Eurasian

Spoonbill and Black-tailed

Godwit in four West African

countries.

• Increased capacity for con-

servation in eight countries

in West Africa.

• Conservation action in West

Africa, including mangrove

restoration and reduced dis-

turbance of roosting sites of

migratory shorebirds.

• Conservation actions con-

tribute to improved liveli-

hoods for local communities.

Flyway conservation pays off

The vision of the Wadden

Sea Flyway Initiative (WSFI)

of the Governments of The

Netherlands, Germany and

Denmark is that ‘Migratory

birds find lasting refuge along

the East Atlantic Flyway

from northern breeding areas

to their key Wadden Sea

stopover and to the African

coastline, and inspire and

connect people for future

generations’. Projects are

carried out under the WSFI

that strengthen capacity for

monitoring and conservation

of migratory waterbirds in

Africa.

BirdLife International is

leading the Conservation

of Migratory Birds project

which focuses on seven

countries in West Africa

from Mauritania to Sierra

Leone. It aims to build long-

term partnerships between

governmental organisations

and NGOs for the conserva-

tion of migratory birds.

Millions on the moveBirds connect the Arctic, Wadden Sea and Africa

Migratory birds, our shared responsibility

East Atlantic Flyway

Key sites for migratory shorebirds:

> 1 million birds

> 500,000 birds

> 100,000 birds

World Heritage Site

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Wadden Sea

Eurasian Spoonbill

With more than 2,500

pairs, nearly half of

the East Atlantic

population of Eurasian

Spoonbills nest in and

around the Wadden

Sea. They migrate in

winter to southern

and western Europe

and West Africa,

especially the Banc

d’Arguin in Mauritania

where they join a non-

migratory sub-species

which breeds only

there.

Red Knot

Red Knots nest in

the high Arctic in the

months of June and

July. The Wadden

Sea is a critical site

for two of the world’s

six sub-species. One

breeds in Canada and

Greenland; most of

this population spends

the winter in huge

flocks in the Wadden

Sea. The other sub-

species breeds in

Arctic Russia and

the whole population

passes through the

Wadden Sea where

they feed and rest

before continuing

their migration to the

west coast of Africa.

Both populations are

in decline.

Grey Plover

Grey Plovers nest on

the tundra of Russia,

Canada and Alaska,

and in the northern

winter are distributed

along coasts

worldwide. They often

feed singly or in small

groups, sometimes

congregating in huge

flocks at high tide

roosts. In Africa, this

is one of the species

characteristic of

mangrove areas.

Over half of the

East Atlantic Flyway

population feeds and

rests in the Wadden

Sea on migration.

After a recovery

in the 1990s, this

population is again

in decline.

What is the East Atlantic Flyway?

• The East Atlantic Flyway is the network of sites used each year by millions of birds migrating between their breeding grounds in the Arctic and their wintering sites in Western Europe and along the western seaboard of Africa.

• Flyways encompass the whole life cycle of migratory birds. Shorebirds need to stop for food and rest on their migrations, relying on a fragile chain of undisturbed coastal stopover sites where food is plentiful. One broken link in the chain of critical sites connecting the Arctic and the tropics can impact the viability of shorebird populations.

Key sites for migratory shorebirds• Shorebirds are especially vulnerable during migration. Some

sites are exceptionally important because they support huge

numbers of birds. For birds there is no alternative to these key

sites.

• The Wadden Sea is a crucial stopover site for migratory

shorebirds in the East Atlantic Flyway. An estimated 12 million

birds rely on the Wadden Sea, one of the main reasons it was

declared a World Heritage Site in 2009.

• 2.5 million shorebirds spend the northern winter at the Banc

d’Arguin World Heritage Site in Mauritania, and many more pass

through on their journeys further south.

• The Bijagós Archipelago in Guinea-Bissau is another crucial

site with 1.5 million wintering birds. The Bijagós is in the process

of becoming a World Heritage Site.

How can the East Atlantic Flyway be conserved?• Cooperation and communication between governments and

science, civil society and nature conservation organisations is

crucial for flyway conservation.

• Joint monitoring and research activities along the East Atlantic

Flyway are essential to collect information for effective flyway

management.

• Implementation of participatory conservation strategies and

action plans for species and sites, especially the most critical

sites.

• Coordination at flyway level through Inter-governmental

Agreements and collaborative conservation programmes.

How do we know which species and sites need conserving?• Conservation works best with reliable information on bird

numbers, sites, threats, distribution and migration routes, which

is collected through research and monitoring programmes.

• The International Waterbird Census (IWC) coordinated by Wet-

lands International is used to monitor waterbirds throughout the

world, and the Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA) pro-

gramme coordinated by BirdLife International is used to monitor

sites and the threats affecting them.

Flyway Projects that are helping conserve the East Atlantic FlywayThe Trilateral Wadden Sea Cooperation of Germany, the Netherlands

and Denmark protects migratory waterbirds at the Wadden Sea

through implementation of a joint management plan, supported

by an extensive programme of bird counts and habitat monitoring.

The Wadden Sea Flyway Initiative (WSFI) is a response to

the increased responsibility of the three governments for con-

serving migratory waterbirds that depend on the Wadden Sea

along their flyways, following the site’s inscription on the list of

UNESCO World Heritage sites. It started with two projects in

2012 focussing on:

• Capacity building through regional and national workshops

on the flyway approach, management and network building;

• Monitoring, by training of monitoring teams in West Africa,

developing monitoring strategies and a monitoring framework

for the whole East Atlantic Flyway.

The Conservation of Migratory Birds (CMB) project led by

BirdLife International focuses on seven coastal countries in West

Africa from Mauritania to Sierra Leone including Cape Verde,

in partnership with Wetlands International and national Non-

Governmental Organizations (NGOs). The project concentrates

on capacity building for improved site and species monitoring,

and conservation action in key sites.

A strong theme is building long-term partnerships between

governmental organizations, NGOs and local communities.

International frameworkThe African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA),

an Agreement under the Convention of Migratory Species

(CMS), focuses on migratory waterbirds and is crucial because

of its encouragement of flyway-level activities and its influence

at government level.

The UNESCO World Heritage Convention draws attention to the

most important natural and cultural sites in the world. UNESCO

encourages people at the World Heritage sites most important

for birds to cooperate in conservation activities.

International collaboration pays off The WSFI and CMB projects are having an impact on migratory

bird conservation at international, national and local levels.

Highlights include:

• A comprehensive flyway monitoring strategy developed for

shorebirds.

• An integrated survey of populations and sites from the Wad-

den Sea to Southern Africa executed in January 2014.

• A flyway vision and Plan of Action developed for migratory

bird conservation along the flyway agreed by relevant organisa-

tions in bird conservation.

• Capacity for conservation improved through training of

partners and individuals via national courses in eight countries

in West Africa.

• Capacity and networking increased through a major regional

workshop for site managers from across the western coast of

Africa.

• National species action plans prepared for Eurasian Spoonbill

and Black-tailed Godwit in four West African countries.

• Conservation action in West Africa, including mangrove resto-

ration, village agreements for sustainable fisheries, and reduced

disturbance of roosting sites of migratory shorebirds.

• Local communities, site managers and government agencies

effectively engaged in conservation activities. Conservation ac-

tion is contributing to improved livelihoods for local communities.

• An exciting new photographic field guide under development,

for use by field personnel along the western coast of Africa.

• Joint communication plan to raise awareness on conservation

of migratory birds along the East Atlantic Flyway in both West

Africa and Wadden Sea countries.The importance of the Wadden Sea for migratory birds• The Wadden Sea is among the largest coastal wetlands in the

world and the most important site for waterbirds in Europe.

• The Wadden Sea is crucial for at least 60 species at the breeding,

migrating and non-breeding stages of their life cycles.

• The central position of the Wadden Sea on the East Atlantic

Flyway makes it the most important resting and feeding area

for these birds on their autumn migration between the Arctic

and tropical Africa.

• On their return migration, the quality of undisturbed feeding

habitats in the Wadden Sea allows birds to get into good condi-

tion before the breeding season starts in the Arctic.

2014

More and more people

enjoy the spectacle

of bird migration.

These ‘nature tourists’

boost local economies.

photo cover : EURASIAN SPOONBILL Ron van Elst/Buiten-Beeld

DU

NLIN

Daniele O

cchiato/Buiten-B

eeld

foto

: Barend van G

emerden

The Wadden Sea

Gateway to the East Atlantic Flyway

foto: Barend van G

emerden