Birds Australia

Tel. 1300 730 075, Website: www.birdsaustralia.com.au

Birds Australia (BA) is dedicated to the conservation, study and enjoyment of Australia's native birds and their habitats. BA is the primary national bird conservation organisation, providing opportunities for people to learn more about birds and actively participate in bird conservation.

Key areas of expertise provided by Birds Australia include:

• Monitoring (technical and design skills).
• Banding and flagging.
• International linkages (exchange visits and training courses).
• Volunteer management, training and resources.
• Community group liaison and support.
• Advocacy on wetland and shorebird conservation issues.
• General shorebird research.

Australasian Wader Studies Group

Website: www.tasweb.com.au/awsg/

The Australasian Wader Studies Group (AWSG) is a Special Interest Group of Birds Australia and was formed to coordinate and focus studies on waders/shorebirds. Because many waders are associated with wetland habitats, the AWSG is also active in promoting wetland conservation. Key areas of expertise and experience by the AWSG include:

• Monitoring of waders (technical and design skills)
• Migration of waders (counting, banding, colour flagging and collection of biometric data)
• Advocacy for the conservation of waders and their habitat, and to make available information to local and national governmental conservation bodies and other organisations

Wetlands International-Oceania

Tel. 02 6260 8341, Website: www.wetlands.org/Oceania/En/index.aspx

Wetlands International - Oceania provides and supports regional initiatives for greater awareness of, and attention to, wetland conservation. It identifies the responsible government agencies and NGOs in each country in the Oceania region and strives to provide or locate technical and financial support to national priority actions for wetland conservation.

Key areas of expertise provided by Wetlands International - Oceania include:

• Shorebird Action Plan: coordinating implementation through the Flyway, including development of the Shorebird Site Network.
• Wetland Management Solutions: support to NRM regional bodies and wetland managers across Australia in recognition and management of important wetlands. www.wetlandmanagementsolutions.org.au
• Information tools: guidelines and factsheets on wetland types and management.
• Wetland inventory: rapid inventory and assessment of wetlands in remote regions.
• Transfer of skills: for wetland conservation and ecologically sustainable development.
• Waterbird population estimates: for shorebirds and other waterbirds in Australia.

Conservation Volunteers Australia and Revive Our Wetlands

Tel. 1800 032 501 Website: www.conservationvolunteers.com.au/
Tel. 02 6882 5986, Website: www.reviveourwetlands.net

Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA) is Australia's largest practical conservation organisation linking Australia's wider community to practical environmental action on the ground. CVA's networks provide a link from a management strategy to community involvement with on ground action and longer-term involvement. The Revive our Wetlands program, established by Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA) and BHP Billiton, is the largest national wetlands revival program in Australia.

Key areas of expertise provided Conservation Volunteers Australia and Revive Our Wetlands include:

• Managing volunteers in practical conservation tasks.
• Training in the management of people in practical conservation tasks.
• Delivering accredited and non accredited training for both individuals and organizations in Active Volunteering, Conservation Volunteer Management, In Safe Hands Training, Risk Assessment Training Workshops and Safety Awareness.
• Provision and management of volunteers for the following types of projects - biodiversity, coastal, community education, fauna, greenhouse, heritage, inland waters, landcare, National Parks and wetlands.

Hunter Wetlands Centre Australia

Tel. 02 4951 6466, Website: www.wetlands.org.au

The Hunter Wetland Centre Australia aims to increase understanding of and appreciation for wetlands through communication, education and public awareness.

Key areas of expertise provided by The Wetlands Centre Australia include:

• School Education Program - catering for students from Kindergarten through Year 12 with topics on wetland birds and animals, wetland habitats, ecosystem values and functions, and management issues.
• Community involvement - bird walks at the wetlands, promotion of wise use of wetlands for shorebirds, promotion of local Shorebird Network Site, celebration of the arrival and departure of local shorebirds.
• Feathers, Flyways and Friends - comprehensive website hosted by The Wetlands Centre, includes six translations, resources, case studies, network sites, flyway information and links to other shorebird friends. www.wetlands.org.au/shorebirds/

Department of the Environment and Heritage

Tel. 02 6274 1111
Website: www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/migratory/waterbirds/index.html

The Australian Government’s Department of the Environment and Heritage is conserving migratory waterbirds through a range of international conventions and agreements, national legislation and through investments from the Natural Heritage Trust.

Key areas of expertise provided by the Department includes:

• Information on, and an understanding of Government policies and programs:
  1. International agreements: Ramsar Convention, Convention on Migratory Species,
  2. Bilateral Migratory Bird Agreements: China-Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (CAMBA), Japan-Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (JAMBA),
  3. Asia Pacific Migratory Waterbird Conservation Strategy and the Action Plan for the Conservation of Migratory Shorebirds in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway: 2001-2005.
  4. Wildlife Conservation Plan for Migratory Shorebirds,
• Education and information exchange: Feather, flyways and fast food - School curriculum material on migratory shorebirds; A Year on the wing; Asia Pacific migratory shorebirds discussion group.
• Access to government and non-government organisations working to conserve wetlands and migratory waterbirds.

WWF-Australia

Tel. 1800 032 551, Website: www.wwf.org.au

WWF-Australia is part of the WWF International Network - the world's largest independent conservation organisation - whose mission is to stop the degradation of the planet's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature.

Key areas of expertise provided by WWF-Australia include:

• Building capacity to facilitate community involvement in threatened species recovery projects (Threatened Species Network)
• Access to best possible science to advocate wetland and shorebird conservation and effective conservation policies
• Access to networks that specialise in shorebird, threatened species and wetland conservation

WetlandCare Australia

Tel. 02 6681 6169, Website: www.wetlandcare.com.au

WetlandCare Australia aims to add value to Australia's wetland community and environment by building the knowledge and science of wetland repair through active wetland repair projects in regional Australia.

Key areas of expertise provided by Wetland Care Australia include:

• Moving useful information to on-ground wetland managers and landholders by conducting public consultation, workshops, training days and regional forums
• Providing technical help via wetland assessments, management plans, design, costing and implementation services
• Specialising in on-ground wetland action, refining wetland repair techniques through the application of science and inclusion of the scientific community.

Wetlands.edu

email
Website: www.wetlandsedu.org.au

This is a national wetland management skills program designed to provide capacity building and training for regional and community investments in wetland-related assessment, planning and actions. Training will be delivered through wetland centres and key regional towns and cities and aimed primarily at regional natural resource management and catchment bodies and their stakeholders, including Landcare and river management groups, local governments and private landholders.

A primary focus of the training will be on retaining or improving the condition of wetland assets. This will be achieved through improved local and regional/catchment-level knowledge of the latest wetland planning and management practices.

The program will cover a broad range of subjects, including:

• Fundamentals of wetland ecology
• Wetland inventory and assessment
• Monitoring and use of indicators
• Developing a management plan for a wetland site
• Wetland hydrology
• Wetland classification and prioritisation approaches
• Managing wetlands in the urban setting

The Wetlands.edu program will be delivered by the Hunter Wetlands Centre Australia consortium comprising the Hunter Wetlands Centre Australia, the WET program of the Sydney Olympic Park Authority, Banrock Station Wine and Wetland Centre, Dr Bill Phillips (Mainstream Environmental Consulting), Dr Rhonda Butcher (Water’s Edge Consulting) and Jennifer Hale Consulting.