Heartbreaking
On Fri, Sep 17, 2010 at 6:03 PM, Adrian Boyle <>wrote:
> Hi all
>
> Thought I would pass on some very disturbing issues facing our shorebirds
>
> During April and May in both 2009 and 2010 I have been working in the Bohai
> Sea (China) on Red Knots for the Global Flyway Network with Chris Hassell.
>
> Red knots populations have been declining for many years now and it is
> predicted that in the next few years there will be a major crash in our 2
> subspecies rogersi and persmai that visit Australia and New Zealand.
>
> The main reason is that there is a huge amount of habitat loss on the
> staging grounds. The amount that is and has occurred in the Yellow Sea (the
> main site for migrating shorebirds from our flyway) is staggering. It is
> reported in the Bohai Sea alone in the last 10 years 453km2 of offshore area
> including 156km2 of intertidal mudflats have been destroyed.
>
> In regards to Red Knot it has only been in the last few years since the
> main staging site for Red Knots on Northward migration has been found. This
> is in the north west area of the Bohai Sea in China. This area is one of the
> most populated places on the planet and humans are visible everywhere. The
> Bohai Sea is the most polluted sea in the world and absorbs nearly 5.7
> billion tones of sewage each year, 2 million tones of solid waste and 43 of
> its 52 rivers that flow into it are heavily polluted.
>
> For Red Knot on southward migration it staging site has yet to be
> discovered and the threats to this area are therefore still unknown.
>
> Massive loss of habitat due to industrial development has destroyed
> hundreds of square km of mudflats and has now pushed the 50,000 Red Knots
> that feed in this bay into a small and rapidly reducing band of mudflat
> along with many other species of Shorebirds.
>
> A Chinese friend that is studying for a PhD on Red Knots in the area has
> already lost 4 of her survey areas and in the time between my last and next
> visit this shoreline will have reduced from 23km to just 17.5km. The
> destruction of a further 5.5km is now underway and it is not known how much
> of this will be left on my next visit. With no protection for the remaining
> mudflat it is predicted that this will also vanish over the next few years.
>
> The China marine environment monitoring center estimates that between 2006
> and 2010 1000km2 of land were reclaimed each year in China alone. Figures
> for Korea are not known at this stage.
>
> Curlew Sandpipers may also show some dramatic declines soon as on a 5.5km
> stretch of mudflat, that is being destroyed as you read this, in April 2010
> a staggering 80,000 of them were counted feeding there. Where they will go
> and if they will survive is not known.
>
> Red Knot more than many other shorebirds are very specific on their prey
> items and will struggle to find any other area suitable to stage.
>
> The main reason for the habitat loss is to create land for industry. This
> of course provides us with the many items that we ALL have in our house.
> Caofeidian project was a development mainly for shipping with most of this
> being for Australian Iron Ore ships. This development destroyed more than
> 65km2 of mudflat and is adjacent to our main survey area. This is also a
> site where the major industry that once polluted Beijing (a steel works) was
> moved to make clearer skies for the environmentally friendly Olympics.
>
> Unfortunately money talks and the price of newly created land is a lot
> cheaper than already existing land. This is the driving force behind the
> destruction and as the world demands more products from China the industry
> will continue to be built.
>
> It is a sad state of affairs and many environmental groups have been trying
> to halt this massive issue all over the very important Yellow Sea so far
> with very little success. Unless there is a major swing in government
> opinion then it will continue until it is all gone. Unfortunately this will
> not be much longer as new development is popping up everywhere.
>
> A few images taken at the site and showing the issues and threats can be
> seen at the below address.
>
> Each photo has information posted below the image explaining what they are.
>
> http://www.pbase.com/wildlifeimages/shorebird_threats
>
> A recent radio interview by Chris Hassell and myself on this topic can be
> viewed at.
>
>
> http://www.aqob.com.au/list.php?s_id=185&seo=Migratory_shorebirds_and_tidal_flats_(series)&menuid=category_id_25
>
> Further information on some other Shorebird habitat loss can be found at.
>
>
> http://www.birdskorea.org/Habitats/Wetlands/Saemangeum/BK-HA-Saemangeum-Mainpage.shtml
>
> Information on the Global Flyway Network along with a full report on the
> Bohai Bay survey is available at www.globalflywaynetwork.com.au/
>
>
>
> Cheers Adrian Boyle
>
>
>
>
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