Dear Jeff,
I am delighted you wrote! I think the AWSG has been probably felt as a droning
in the ears of the Australian Government over the years, and our presence is
felt in at least one level of government in most of the countries in the East
Asian-Australasian Flyway through our continued presence at EAAF Partnership
meetings. Ken Gosbell and I have spent a lot of time and money attending
meetings and training workshops working with people on the ground. Surveys and
data collection are now being collected in many Asian countries, but we still
have a lot of work to do.
Things are slowly improving in the Asia Pacific as far as the environment and
migratory shorebirds are concerned, but obviously nowhere near fast enough to
stop the fast decline of species such as the Curlew Sandpiper and more recently
the Great Knot, now the Red Knot. Two species (Spoon-billed Sandpiper and
Nordmann's Greenshank) are headed for extinction, they don't fly to Australia
but we should be concerned about their loss and that other species might head
in the same direction.
The weight of public pressure does make a difference. It might result in a
standard form type letter (one attached to our past Secretary, Penny) but the
more people respond the better. It is being felt in Canberra but unless a lot
of people make their voices heard it only seems like the noisy minority to the
Government. The AWSG does not have the strength in numbers to make demands by
ourselves we need a few thousand to make their voices heard.
Writing your letter has helped, thank you!
Phil
Phil Straw
Vice Chairman
Australasian Wader Studies Group
www.awsg.org.au
Tel: 61 2 9597 7765
Mob: 0411 249 075
Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail
On 02/05/2011, at 2:12 PM, Jeff Davies wrote:
> G'day Phil,
>
> I am wondering if the way the voice of concern is being transmitted needs to
> be enhanced, lots of us have been responding to these requests with
> increasing alarm for some time now, and Adrian Boyle's latest report/requiem
> is a good description of where things are on the ground and an indicator
> that this ridiculously serious issue just isn't on the radar politically
> speaking or else is being handled deftly.
> Maybe the AWSG needs to start thinking about a last stand approach with the
> Australian Government on this issue, make some demands on Tony Bourke to
> honour signed intergovernmental agreements to protect these birds by
> engaging with China and Korea on the issue more seriously. The alternative
> is that we may finish up with lots of protected areas in Australia and a
> Shorebird aware public thanks to programmes funded by the Feds, but a
> seriously reduced number of migratory Shorebirds left to inhabit our
> wetlands. I don't want to give any reason for people not to respond to your
> request for them to voice their concern, everyone on this forum should
> respond, but it is starting to look very serious and heading into endgame
> territory up there in the Yellow Sea could be time to be less polite with
> the government, there isn't/won't be much left to lose, except the domestic
> Federal funding for shorebird interpretation programmes. I probably
> shouldn't have written this but it is a response to feeling somewhat
> helpless at witnessing this unfolding ecological disaster.
>
> Cheers Jeff.
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From:
> On Behalf Of Phil Straw
> Sent: Sunday, 1 May 2011 9:19 PM
> To: Birding Aus
> Subject: [Birding-Aus] A gloomy message for World Migratory Bird Day
>
>
> AWSG News Alert:
> World Migratory Bird Day - is celebrated on the second weekend of may round
> the world. Take part and register your activities.
> <http://www.worldmigratorybirdday.org/2011/>
>
> World Migratory Bird Day - Time is running out for Australia's migratory
> shorebirds
>
> While you are reading the article linked below another hectare of shorebird
> habitat will have disappeared in the Yellow Sea!
> Habitat that is essential for migratory shorebirds stopping to feed on their
> way from Australia to their breeding grounds in Siberia and Alaska.
>
> The AWSG urge you to voice your concern now, read more
> <http://www.awsg.org.au/news.php>
>
>
>
> Phil Straw
> Vice Chairman
> Australasian Wader Studies Group
>
> www.awsg.org.au
> Tel: 61 2 9597 7765
> Mob: 0411 249 075
>
> Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail
>
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