Urgent call for volunteers to scan godwit flocks for Engraved Leg Flags in Western Port Bay

Dr Birgita Hansen, Project Officer – Western Port Welcomes Waterbirds, 8th Feb, 2010:

This is an urgent call for volunteers to help search flocks of Bar-tailed Godwit for engraved leg flags in Western Port Bay. Information obtained from leg flags sightings prior to the bird’s departure in mid-March will help provide an estimate of the extent of movement by birds between different high tide roosts within the bay. The information collected will contribute toward a collaborative project (Western Port Welcomes Waterbirds) between the Arthur Rylah Institute, the Central Coastal Board and BOCA, which is investigating important sites and habitats for waterbirds in the bay. Additional information and data, kindly contributed by BA and VWSG, is contributing to the project including information from banding and flagging activities.

I am planning on searching flocks at a number of key high tide roosts around the bay between the 11th Feb and the 15th March, but can only do so on an intermittent basis (i.e. I cannot get out every day). Any assistance in scanning flocks at high tide sites would be greatly appreciated. The sites that need to be scanned are:

• Observation Point
• Rams Island (French island)
• Tortoise Head (French island)
• Reef Island
• Stockyard Point
• GMH drain and surrounds (Pioneer Bay)
• Sandy Point / Hanns Inlet

Please let me know either by email (birgita.hansen@dse.vic.gov.au) or by phone (0419267223) if you are interested in helping out, and when you might be available.

Many Thanks

Dr Birgita Hansen | Project Officer – Western Port Welcomes Waterbirds
Arthur Rylah Institute | Department of Sustainability and Environment |

Tel: 61 3 9450 8656 | Mob:  0419 267223 | Fax:  61 3 9450 8799
123 Brown Street, VIC | PO Box 137, Heidelberg, VIC 3084, Australia
For further information, visit our website http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/ari

World Wetlands Day: recognition for role wetlands in climate change adaptation

02-Feb-2010

Celebrating World Wetlands Day, today’s spotlight is on the importance of wetlands for reducing impacts of climate change. Globally, there is a growing recognition of the key role that the protection and restoration of wetlands like marshes, peatlands, mangroves and coral reefs can play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to its impacts. Now, this recognition has to be turned into action.

Recognition by global conventions

Both the Ramsar Convention (Resolution X.24) on Wetlands and the Convention of Biological Diversity (Decision VII/15) also emphasise this in their resolutions, decisions and key messages. This clearly demonstrates the international recognition of the role of wetlands in climate adaptation strategies and is a call for action towards Parties under the UN Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to provide the pathway to prioritize it.

Pieter van Eijk, Wetlands International: “The value of ecosystems for climate change adaptation is now explicitly recognised in the Adaptation text that was on the table at the climate summit in Copenhagen. This is an important step but needs to be taken forward through the financing and implementation of ecosystem based adaptation approaches at all levels of adaptation planning and policies.”

For this reason, Wetlands International clearly calls for improved, explicit criteria and guidance on the environmental impacts of projects to be financed within the framework of the Adaptation Fund.

Global campaign on role of wetlands for adaptation by Wetlands International

This year’s theme of World Wetlands Day is strongly supported by Wetlands International which runs a global campaign to put this on the political agenda. In 5 countries demonstration projects have started to research the ability of wetlands to reduce peak flood flows, form a buffer against impacts of sea level rise and storms and provide water in periods of extreme droughts.

The project will provide the knowledge base for training programmes to national and local policy makers in Africa, Asia and Latin America, like delegation members of the UNFCCC process, relevant river basin authorities, and donors on climate change adaptation programmes.

Example of our work on climate change adaptation: Guinea Bissau

Just last week a new project was launched with the support of the government of Guinea Bissau to research the extent to which mangroves can cope with increasing sea levels and salt water intrusion. The project will also restore a significant number of mangrove forests in Guinea Bissau. For this project Wetlands International builds on the experiences of other previous mangrove restoration of Wetlands International in Asia and Africa. The first outcomes of this project are expected at the end of this year. Read the full press release.

More information:

Visit our website for more information on our work on Adaptation, videos and latest publications, see www.wetlands.org/adaptation

Tel: +31 6 5060 1917

Email: Alex.kaat@wetlands.org

Twitter: wetlandsint
Youtube: wetlandsint

World Wetlands Day Feb 2nd 2010

World Wetlands Day February 2 is World Wetlands Day.  It is celebrated internationally each year to mark the anniversary of the signing of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (otherwise known as the Ramsar Convention) which occurred at Ramsar, in Iran, on 2 February 1971.

This year, to celebrate World Wetlands Day, members of Birds Australia have combined to make a practical difference, both on the day and in the weeks leading up to it. There was action aplenty at Cheetham Wetlands near Melbourne, where a much greater than anticipated number of people braved unpleasantly hot and windy conditions to be guided around the series of wetlands and observe a stunning variety of migratory and resident shorebirds at close hand, as well as plenty of ducks and other waterbirds.

It is vital for the future of bird conservation in Australia that we educate the general public about the importance of sites such as this, just a few minutes from Melbourne’s CBD, and their crucially important role in bird conservation. It’s all part of Birds Australia’s plan for wetland conservation and monitoring activities to ensure a bright future for our aquatic birdlife.

Coinciding with the big day out at Cheetham, participants in the successful Shorebirds 2020 project were out braving the mudflats and salt-ponds in The Coorong in South Australia, Victoria’s Western District, Darwin and Robbins Passage in north-western Tasmania, monitoring wader numbers in the summer’s ongoing series of shorebird counts. Though results have yet to be tabulated, results indicate that shorebird numbers at some areas may be down from last year. Data gathered from these counts are analysed to establish population trends and they will guide Birds Australia’s shorebird conservation action into the future.

Another shorebird to receive special attention in recent weeks was the Australian Painted Snipe. In mid-January the first Painted Snipe Survey for 2010 was conducted, with people trudging through the wetlands throughout mainland Australia in search of this enigmatic species. It is essential that we gather as much data as we can about this little-known bird so that we can ensure its survival into the future.

Still more wetland action occurred around World Wetlands Day, with ongoing Birds Australia’s Bittern Surveys conducted, as they have been throughout the summer months. Participants will keep searching for Australian Little Bitterns and Australasian Bitterns in reed beds throughout the country, with data-gathering surveys continuing on into March.

‘Landcare celebrates  – 20 years of achievements and future challenges’

Are you are interested in protecting the environment and creating sustainable landscapes, lifestyles and livelihoods for the 21st century?

The Australian Government invites community groups, farmers, Indigenous land managers, researchers and interested individuals to attend the National Landcare Forum which is being held at the Allan Scott Park, Morphettville from 22nd -25th March 2010. Over 400 delegates are expected to attend.

The National Landcare Forum will include workshops, presentations, demonstrations, a gala forum dinner, and an exhibition including displays from around Australia.

Delegates will have the opportunity to learn about the latest research developments in Natural Resource Management and sustainable agriculture, develop new networks and new skills; celebrate 20 years of achievements and recognises the significant contribution the community has made over the last 20 years.

Sessions will cover current issues including climate change, carbon sequestration, volunteering, succession planning and food security.

On 25 March delegates can visit a range of landcare projects and restoration sites in the Barossa Valley, the Lower Lakes and urban areas.

If your organisation is interested in an exhibition booth or display space please see the Forum Website. Exhibition fees cover one full delegate registration per booth. Smaller groups can site share to reduce costs.

Register or find out more here

Warrnambool City Landcare Group 2007 © Landcare Australia