Decision-making Framework
A Decision-making framework (DMF) has been developed for shorebirds in Australia that can be used to improve the management and conservation of shorebird habitat at individual sites. The Shorebird DMF outlines a simple planning process that enables management stakeholder groups to identify at their shorebird site:
- Threats, their source and impacts to shorebirds/shorebird habitat.
- Potential strategies, actions and information/skills/resources needed to manage threats, including a prioritisation of strategies and actions.
- Organisations with management responsibility.
- Potential measures to monitor and evaluate the success of management strategies and actions.
The following report provides a general overview of the main components of the DMF that could be used to improve the management and conservation of shorebird habitats. The report has a broad focus and is aimed at organisations and individuals with a basic understanding of shorebird ecology, threatening processes, land use planning and management. The report aims to identify the basic information requirements for making decisions on shorebird management; however, it does not provide specific details on shorebird management Australia-wide.
Stakeholders concerned with identifying threats to shorebirds and managing threats should also review the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN) Site Assessment Tool (SAT) and Site Assessment Framework. The DMF seeks to establish a process from the commencement of a project, where as the SAT is focused on sites that are already recognised as being important for Shorebirds. The Human Activity, Threat and Habitat Change sections of the Shorebirds 2020 Count Form are based on the SAT.