North Western Australia

I have just returned from North Western Australia on a wader ringing expedition.  You can read all about it on Josie Hewitt's blog which has lots of nice photos and information about the trip.  For some more random thoughts and fewer photos please read on.  To start with I would like to thank all those on the 2016 expedition to Broome and 80 Mile Beach for making it such an enjoyable, unforgettable experience. Additionally thanks to Broome Bird Observatory and everyone at the Anna Plains Station for providing excellent places to stay for the 3 weeks. Last but not least the traditional owners and their rangers need a special thanks for their help and an insight into the culture of traditional Australia.

Broome and 80 Mile Beach are two places I have wanted to go to for several years as they are some of the most important wintering sites for Arctic breeding waders in the world.  I have been there now and I wish I had not put it off for so many years.  The density of birds over such a distance is hard to comprehend and this year's numbers were boosted by Oriental pratincoles that could not cope with the conditions on the plains so came to cool off on the beach.  These huge numbers, although hard to comprehend now, are going through a phase of rapid decline with the little sign of it slowing.

First of all 80 Mile Beach, or at least the part we were at, is pretty remote.  Access is from Broome, a couple of hours drive, over a small cattle station, through some sand dunes and onto the beach.  Although the number of visitors is hard to come by I believe it is a similar order of magnitude to that of the South Pole and Everest base camp and probably fewer.

In the first few days the huge amount of space and lack of human influence on the beach was the most noticeable.  The amount of litter was minimal and the only sign of activity were the posts marking the kilometres and turtle nests. Moving back to Broome human influence was easier to spot however still rare compared to some of the UK's beaches.

The aim of the expedition is to find out what is going on with populations of migratory shorebirds using North West Australia (NWA) as tropical wintering grounds.  This is done by mark recapture, colour ring sightings, a measure of juvenile recruitment from catches and other methods. 2016 added to the long term data set rather successfully.  Results from a single expedition on a long term study site are generally of little immediate consequence however the results from many expeditions over the long term are what really matters.  A fuller report will appear from the organisers soon.

Anyway, enough of the travel-log as they are not my cup of tea.

Earlier I mentioned the rapid decline in some species using NWA.  One of the most notable is Bar-tailed godwit (Limosa lapponica menzbieri).  In the last 10 years they have declined by 80% or roughly 15% per year.  The cause of the rapid decline is simple - land use change in the Yellow sea removing vital fuelling spots on their migration route.  Perhaps the defining image of the troubles on flyway can been seen here.  There are other probable factors such as rapid warming of the Arctic and hunting pressures at some stop over sites however habitat loss at key stop over sites is the one that matters right now. Similar declines have been seen in other species such as Red Knot at 8% per year (Calidris canutus piersmai, C. c. rogersi), Curlew sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea) at 15% per year and many others.

The question is how do we stop the land claims to stop the decline?  After all it is driven by the industrialisation of South East Asia and Yellow sea areas causing an increased need for land near major ports and factories. Much of the land is being claimed as fertile farm land to feed the rapidly growing populations in the industrial coastal regions.  This population growth is being driven by the demand of the developed world for cheap goods.  These goods could all be manufactured in Europe and/or America however the labour costs are higher due to much higher welfare standards for workers and the much tighter environmental regulations we have.  One large step forward we could take is to stop outsourcing manufacture to places that do not meet our welfare and environmental standards. The downside of this would be a significant increase in cost however we are probably not willing to pay for increased standards for workers and certainly not willing to pay to save rapidly declining species.

Given all the species listed above exist in reasonable numbers on other flyways conservation efforts are, perhaps, harder to justify than they could be on other species.  Why try and conserve Bar-tailed godwit, Great knot, Red knot or Curlew sandpiper when they exist on other flyways?  How about putting the conservation money into Pink pigeons or Kakapo or saving a European species?  Luckily for the flyway has a poster child in the shape of the Spoon-billed sandpiper (Calidris pygmaea) which is unique in the wader world for having a crazily shaped bill, only occurs on the East Asia/Australasia flyway and numbers a few hundred individuals. While the issues surrounding the Spoonie are slightly different, habitat loss at key stop over sites is still a big problem. Raising the awareness of the imminent threat of extinction for the Spoonie can only be a good thing for other species in critical danger on this flyway in severe trouble.

Other steps we need to take is to raise awareness globally of the crisis in the Yellow sea, mobilise the masses of conservationists and environmentalists to spread the word.  We need more people from around the world to see the crisis unfolding first hand whether it be in China, Korea, Australia or in the Arctic.  And most importantly take more steps, strides and leaps to stop the land claims that are happening at such alarming rates.

So my plea is not to blame China, South Korea, Taiwan or Vietnam for these declines in species as that will do nothing to protect their rapidly disappearing habitat but to start putting pressure on suppliers of goods to ensure they are produced to the environmental and human welfare standards we would expect from a factory in Europe.  This may appear impossible but if enough people start putting pressure on the multinationals that provide cheap electronics then we can make a difference.  Time is rapidly running out for many of these species as double digit annual declines are not sustainable.