2 November 2011: An international workshop to review good practice in international initiatives for the conservation of migratory birds provided the first opportunity to bring together practitioners from all flyway initiatives to share lessons learned. The workshop focused mostly on waterbirds, but also addressed raptor, landbird and seabird flyway initiatives.

Hosted by the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Convention), the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA), the Secretariat of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP), BirdLife International and Wetlands International, the workshop was organized with the support of Seosan City (Republic of Korea), Switzerland and EAAFP, and took place from 17-20 October 2011, in Seosan City, Republic of Korea.

The workshop was organized in response to a request from Ramsar Parties at their 10th meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to take steps to share knowledge and expertise on best practices in the development and implementation of flyway-scale waterbird conservation policies and practices. During the workshop, participants discussed, through presentations, the pressures faced worldwide by migratory birds and opportunities for enhancing their conservation status. They all recognized the value of knowledge and information sharing across flyway initiatives, and agreed to establish an open and inclusive network of flyway-scale initiatives, titled the “Global Interflyway Network” (GIN).

A summary report of the workshop’s conclusions and recommendations will be submitted to the CMS Scientific Council, followed by a full workshop report for publication as a joint Ramsar/CMS/AEWA Technical Report. [AEWA News] [Ramsar Press Release]