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Cela fait dix ans que l'Initiative pour la voie de migration de la mer des Wadden (WSFI) a lancé son programme de renforcement des capacités et de gestion, qui se déroule principalement le long de la partie africaine de la voie de migration de l'Atlantique Est. Un rapport, rédigé par Tim Dodman, formateur en renforcement des capacités, est publié aujourd'hui.

The Wadden Sea Flyway Initiative received 10-month funding from the German International Climate Initiative (IKI) for the project ‘Climate Resilience for Critical Sites for Migratory Birds and People along the East Atlantic Flyway’.

The Wadden Sea serves as a vital resting place for over ten million migratory birds a year along the East Atlantic Flyway. To enhance guided tours and educational efforts, the International Wadden Sea School (IWSS) has released a new collection of migratory bird profiles. This resource is designed to help bird guides and educators bring the fascinating story of migratory birds to life.

Under the umbrella of the Wadden Sea Flyway Initiative (WSFI), the governments of the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark joined forces to improve the monitoring of migratory waterbirds along the East Atlantic Flyway. For the past two years, a project called “FLYWAY,” funded by European Commission’s Directorate General for Structural Reform Support (DG REFORM) under its Technical Support Instrument (TSI), has explored new technologies to help monitor and understand the factors driving population declines, a crucial step for finding adequate conservation measures to protect these birds.

It has been ten years since the Wadden Sea Flyway Initiative (WSFI) first started its capacity building and management programme, which takes place mostly along the African part of the East Atlantic Flyway. A report, authored by capacity building trainer, Tim Dodman, is out today. The report provides country profiles where the work has been carried out, describes the activities, projects, workshops over the last decade as well as highlighting a key publication of the initiative: the WSFI African East Atlantic Flyway Guide.

Held virtually on 14-15 September 2024, the East Atlantic Flyway Youth Forum brought together young conservationists aged 18-30 from across the flyway to explore opportunities and challenges that citizen science projects face.

This year World Migratory Bird Day focuses on the intricate relationship between birds and insects. Amidst the vast landscape of the Wadden Sea, migratory birds find refuge and food to sustain them during their arduous journeys. Insects often play a central role in the diet of many songbirds, but also waterbirds rely on this rich source of protein. One example of this is observed on the German island of Mellum, where black-headed gulls feed on ants during their nuptial flights.

Who has not seen the picture of the East Atlantic Flyway of shorebirds in one of the numerous information centres in the Wadden Sea? From the Wadden Sea as the central hub, the long migratory routes extend to the Arctic breeding grounds of north-eastern Canada, Greenland, Svalbard and northern Siberia. Southwards to the wintering grounds, the lines extend along the West African coast to the West Coast National Park in South Africa. 

The 3rd East Atlantic Flyway Youth Forum (EAFYF 2023) was concluded on 10 September 2023, after two days of intensive training and collaborative work. More than 40 young adults, aged 18-30, from different countries along the East Atlantic Flyway, gathered to enhance their conservation skills, with a central focus on harnessing the power of 'Conservation Storytelling’ as a vital tool for effective stakeholder engagement in conservation efforts.

In the beginning of 2023, a large outbreak of Highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 (HPAI) – or avian flu – was documented in West Africa. In The Gambia, more than 7,500 waterbirds have died around coastal nature reserves. In response, the Gambian government approached the Rapid Expert Group on Health (SEEG), funded by the German government. In the beginning of September, a deployment that included the Wadden Sea Flyway Initiative addressed both the current outbreak and prepare for potential future occurrences.

Effective communication is key when working with stakeholders from different backgrounds. It is imperative to understand each other’s perspectives to reach a consensus on how best to implement sustainable solutions. But how do we communicate effectively? This is the focus at this year’s East Atlantic Flyway Youth Forum (EAFYF) on ‘Conservation Storytelling’, held online, 9-10 September 2023, organised by the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat, Migratory Birds for People, and Youth Engaged in Wetlands. Registration to participate is now open.

Once every three years, migratory birds at all important wintering areas along the Atlantic coast, from Norway to South-Africa, are being counted. In January 2023, the fourth total count of the East Atlantic Flyway was organized by the WSFI. Organizations from 37 countries participated with one goal: to determine changes in numbers of waterbirds which spend considerable time of their lives in the Wadden Sea. An impression from three of the counted areas:

As migratory birds are returning from their southern wintering grounds to their breeding sites in the Wadden Sea, in view of the experience in 2022, researchers and site managers are concerned about new outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in colonially breeding birds. Ample discussions have been held over the past months regarding measures that may help to prevent or mitigate future outbreaks.

The scale of the outbreak of the bird flu, more specifically the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), in the North Sea region in the breeding season of 2022 was unprecedented. In the transboundary Wadden Sea, substantial losses were recorded especially for sandwich terns. But also, common terns and black-headed gulls were affected. It is currently not possible to predict what will happen during the next breeding season.

Each January, counts of migratory waterbirds take place in all key wetland sites along the East Atlantic Flyway. The year 2023 represents the 4th time that these efforts are intensified to cover major wetland sites in almost all countries belonging to this flyway, therefore being called ‘total counts’. Through the collaborative efforts of BirdLife International, Wetlands International, and Wadden Sea Flyway Initiative, and coordinated by Sovon, simultaneous counts will take place in 21 African and 18 European countries along the East Atlantic Flyway in the next days.

In 2022, empowering the youth to take action in conservation has been a key focus of the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat, with activities not only in the Wadden Sea, but also on the global scale. Encouraged by the experience at the first East Atlantic Flyway Youth Forum (EAFYF) held in 2021, the organising team from Youth Engaged in Wetlands, the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust, and the Wadden Sea Flyway Initiative organised a fundraising training for EAFYF 2022, building on the outcomes of the first forum.