Recommendations

Address other threats to Arctic migratory birds along Central and East Asian Flyways and improve international cooperation

5.1 (All countries): Analyse and assess development aid funding structures in high-income-countries and explore opportunities to help identify how AMBI can empower communities to support conservation of important priority species’ habitats, and develop solutions to address illegal hunting where pressures exist.

5.2. (All countries): Initiate work on evaluation of the effect of contaminants and/or pathogens on Arctic-breeding migratory birds as factors possibly decreasing their survival and reproduction potential and estimate bio-transition along the flyway to the Arctic.

5.3. (All countries): Promote cooperation between EAAFP’s Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task Force and AMBI in addressing Spoon-billed Sandpiper conservation activities identified in this workplan.

5.4. (All countries): Create an intervention tool box to ensure resilience of Arctic-breeding migratory birds along Central and East Asian Flyways with the involvement of Arctic Council Observer countries as recommended by the draft AMBI crosswalk analysis under the PSI funded project.

Contribute to the implementation and development of regional flyway initiatives:
7.1 Promote and support the implementation of regional strategies and flyway initiatives
7.2 Encourage/coordinate the development of an American Mid- continental Flyway strategy

Mitigate effects of over-abundant white geese populations on shorebird habitat

2.1 Implement management actions resulting from study of white geese impacts in Canada (undertaken as part of AMBI Phase 1)

Increase quality and quantity of population status assessment data of Arctic breeding waterbirds in the African-Eurasian Flyway

2.1 Support filling knowledge gaps and strengthening monitoring of Arctic waterbirds in the breeding grounds of the flyway, including implementing CBMP in cooperation with Wadden Sea Secretariat and AEWA.

2.2 Support improved population delineation of Arctic-breeding waders by collating Arctic breeding wader migration data (tracking, colour-marking, geolocator, ringing data, etc.) and presenting it on the CSN tool to improve flyway delineation data.

Secure intertidal and associated habitat for AMBI priority species at key staging and wintering sites in the Central and East Asian Flyways.

2.1 (Russia): Ensure improvement of protection of the Russian Far East coastal shorebird stopover sites, by providing information to support local and national decision making on key habitat identification and conservation, including consideration of the new Nature Park in Chukotka and prioritising recovery of closed protected area at Moroshechnaya river mouth in Kamchatka.

2.2 (United States): Gather better information on the abundance, distribution and habitat use of Dunlin and Bar-tailed Godwits at spring and fall staging sites in Alaska.

2.3 (China): Enhance protection of Jiangsu Coast ecosystem, especially the Rudong and Dongtai areas for Spoon-billed Sandpiper and other Arctic-breeding shorebirds considering World Heritage Site Nomination requirements.

2.4 (China): Enhance protection of the Luannan Coast especially Nanpu, Tangshan for Red Knot and other Arctic-breeding shorebirds.

2.5 (China): Enhance protection at Yalu Jiang, Liaoning for Bar-tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Great Knot and other Arctic shorebirds.

2.6 (China): Increase knowledge of key staging and wintering Arctic-breeding shorebirds sites in southern China (Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian provinces) and improve conservation status of these sites.

2.7 (Republic of Korea): Support efforts to reverse declining trends of AMBI priority species (SBS, Great Knot, Dunlin and other) and improve habitat conservation along the flyway through sharing knowledge and international cooperative projects.

2.8 (Republic of Korea): Promote the importance of conserving Korea.

Harvest assessments and mitigation of unsustainable harvest of Arctic birds

2.1 Work with CBird to promote dialogue with authorities for management plans to combine the knowledge of status of hunted species between countries

2.2 Assess the population-level impact of seabird harvest in relation to other stressors

2.3 Conduct/update holistic harvest studies for circumpolar regions of interest using approaches tailored to regional contexts as appropriate

Determine climate change resilient areas of shorebird habitat and promote their protection

4.1 Carry out an analysis of the resilience of shorebird wintering habitat to climate change

4.2 Promote protection of climate change resilient shorebird breeding, wintering and migration habitats

Reduce bycatch of seaducks in the Baltic Sea

4.1 Support the implementation of the AEWA Long-tailed Duck, Velvet Scoter and Common Eider International Single Species Action Plans with respect to the identified activities regarding bycatch under the auspices of the AEWA European Seaduck International Working Group.

Tracking trends in Arctic marine vertebrates.

2.1 The trend for marine fish is very similar to the trend for all marine species, increasing from 1970 to about 1990 and then levelling off. This indicates that the ASTI is strongly influenced by fish trends. Overall, marine mammals also increased, while marine birds showed less change.

2.2 The three ocean regions, Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic, differed significantly in average population trends with an overall decline in abundance in the Atlantic, a small average increase in the Arctic and a dramatic increase in the Pacific. These differences seem to be largely driven by variation in fish population abundance—there were no significant regional differences for birds or mammals.

2.3 Pelagic fish abundance appears to cycle on a time frame of about 10 years. These cycles showeda strong association with a large-scale climate oscillation.

2.4 The ASTI data set contains population trends for nine sea ice associated species. There were mixed trends among the 36 populations with just over half showing an overall decline.

2.5 The Bering Sea and Aleutian Island (BSAI) region of the Pacific Ocean is well studied, providing an opportunity to examine trends in more detail. Since 1970, BSAI marine fish and mammals showed overall increases, while marine birds declined. However, since the late 1980s, marine mammal abundance has declined while marine fish abundance has largely stabilized.

The Arctic Species Trend Index (ASTI): 2011 update.

1.1 Average abundance of Arctic vertebrates increased from 1970 until 1990 then remained fairly stable through 2007, as measured by the ASTI 2011.

1.2 When species abundance is grouped by broad ecozones, a different picture emerges, with low Arctic species abundance increasing in the first two decades much more than high Arctic and sub Arctic species abundance. The low Arctic index has stabilized since the mid-1990s while the high Arctic index appears to be recovering in recent years and the sub Arctic index has been declining since a peak in the mid-1980s.

1.3 The trend for Arctic marine species is similar to that of the overall ASTI, while the trend for terrestrial species shows a quite different pattern: a steady decline after the early 1990s to a level below the 1970 baseline by 2005.