After five days of intense discussions, the 7th session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) concluded in Durban, South Africa on Saturday, December 8, 2018 with parties agreeing on measures to tackle threats from climate change and to increase the protection of individual species and seabirds.

The triennial Meeting of the Parties (MOP) is the Agreement’s principal decision-making body and among the main decisions taken in Durban were the adoption of the Strategic Plan and the Plan of Action for Africa for the period 2019-2027 as well as agreement on key species action plans focusing on some of the African-Eurasian flyway’s most charismatic and endangered waterbirds.

Jacques Trouvilliez, Executive Secretary of AEWA, said: “This MOP marks a milestone in the history of AEWA because we have adopted a new Strategic Plan and a Plan of Action for Africa for the next decade. Parties have done a tremendous job here in Durban to reach consensus on all subjects. With this mandate all countries will be able to work together to ensure a future for waterbirds across a flyway that stretches from the very tip of Africa, across the Middle East to the High Arctic.”

With reference to the plan for Africa, Barirega Akankwasah, AEWA National Focal Point for Uganda and Vice-President of AEWA MOP7, said: “The AEWA Plan of Action for Africa presents a renewed framework for responding to contemporary waterbird conservation issues in Africa. All AEWA contracting parties and partners should support its implementation. The Plan will undoubtedly improve the conservation status of waterbirds in Africa and across the Flyway.”

MOP7 was held under the theme: “Beyond 2020: shaping flyway conservation for the future” and delegates considered reports on the conservation status of the species listed under the Agreement and the effects of plastic on waterbirds as well as prioritising work on seabirds, thought to be among the most threatened groups of bird species in the world.

Parties adopted a number of International Single Species Action and Management Plans (ISSAPs and ISSMPs) while retiring those concerning the Light-bellied Brent Goose and Black-winged Pratincole and extending the duration of the plans for the Great Snipe, Ferruginous Duck, Lesser Flamingo, Eurasian Spoonbill, Black-tailed Godwit, Maccoa Duck, White-winged Flufftail, and Madagascar Pond Heron for a further ten years. The ISSAP for the Lesser White-fronted Goose was extended for another three years until MOP8. New ISSMPs for the Barnacle Goose and Greylag Goose were also adopted.

Among the other Resolutions adopted included one on AEWA’s contribution to the Aichi Targets and the Agreement’s relevance to the Sustainable Development Goals, strengthening the monitoring of migratory waterbirds, guidance on the implementation of the AEWA Action Plan, climate resilient flyways, financial and institutional arrangements.

“Among the many threats that waterbirds have to face are the effects of climate change as a key driver of species decline. We are working to make the flyway more resilient to climate change and of course we need everybody on board to fight against these effects not only on the habitats but on the birds themselves,” said Trouvilliez. “AEWA’s great strengths are its science-based decisions and the good cooperation between its member countries from northern Europe to southern Africa. The treaty also relies on the efforts of highly dedicated individuals, local and national bodies to achieve its goals.”

In recognition of these efforts, the AEWA Waterbird Conservation Award was established in 2005 to recognise individuals, as well as government and non-government organisations and enterprises which have made a significant contribution towards the long-term conservation and sustainable use of waterbirds in the African-Eurasian region.

Ohad Hatzofe, Avian Ecologist of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, was declared the winner of the 2018 AEWA Conservation Award in the individual category, while the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency was successful in the institutional category.

The awards were presented at a special ceremony on the opening day of the meeting, where David Stroud MBE, Senior Ornithologist at the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, was also declared Honourary Patron of the Agreement having been part of the bedrock of AEWA since its inception and having contributed widely to its development and implementation.

Norway and the European Union were recognised as “Champions” of waterbird conservation, respectively for their support of the European Goose Management Programme and the AEWA African Initiative. Launched in 2014, the Migratory Species Champion Programme offers a portfolio of initiatives for donors willing to commit for three years or more to the implementation of a large programme targeting a species, a group of species or a cross-cutting issue.

MOP7 attracted a total of 289 participants, including delegates representing 56 of the 77 Parties, 10 Non-Parties and 42 observers from NGOs, IGOs and the press, making it one of the largest such meetings in the Agreement’s history, according to the organisers.

The next Meeting of the Parties will be held in Hungary in 2021.

Plastic pollution is believed to pose serious health risks to wildlife, and a new report presented to governments at the 7th Session of the Meeting of the Parties (MOP7) to the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) that held from December 4 to 8 in Durban, South Africa, has shown how migratory waterbirds are affected. However, increasing public awareness and changing habits have the potential to turn the tide.

According to the report, of the 254 species covered by the AEWA, more than 40 per cent have been shown to interact with plastics: 22 per cent contain ingested plastic, 31 per cent were entangled in plastic debris, and 8 per cent use plastic items in their nests.

“The growing scourge of plastic pollution across our planet is affecting waterbirds in many ways. When ingested, it can lead to malnutrition and even starvation. Plastic floating in the oceans, along rivers or stranded along our shorelines and in wetlands can cause injuries, impede mobility and cause birds to drown,” said Jacques Trouvilliez, Executive Secretary of AEWA.

One way in which plastic affects waterbirds is through ingestion. Birds often mistake plastic for food but cannot digest it. Plastic items can become lodged in the digestive tract, either blocking the throat and causing choking, or accumulating and filling in the stomach which can lead to malnutrition and starvation. As an example of this, approximately half of all phalaropes, a small migratory shorebird species, have been found with plastic in their digestive systems. In many cases these birds live in remote locations far from humans, but the collection of plastics in the environment means that even they are susceptible.

Another way in which plastics pose a danger to waterbirds is through entanglement. Because plastic does not decompose, floating items such as fishing gear, long filaments and ring-shaped items threaten waterbirds with injuries, impeded mobility and drowning. The number of seabird species affected in this manner has tripled since the mid-1990s. Northern Gannets, an AEWA-listed seabird species, are particularly prone to entanglement with old fishing gear as they follow fishing vessels at sea.

Lastly, microplastics are an increasing contributor to the scourge of plastic pollution. These originate either from small plastics such as microbeads or from degradation of larger items. Microplastics are commonly ingested by prey species which are then consumed in turn by predatory birds.

The report “Waterbirds and Plastics”, which was the first of its kind presented to governments at AEWA MOP7 notes a geographical bias towards Europe and South Africa in studies concerned with waterbirds and plastic pollution.

“It is important that studies elsewhere in the African-Eurasian Flyway fill the knowledge gaps, so we better understand thefull impact of plastics on all waterbirds within the geographic range of AEWA. At the same time, we cannot wait for these studies to fill knowledge gaps but must act now to address the problem globally and collectively across all the world’s flyways,” said Jacques Trouvilliez, Executive Secretary of AEWA.

AEWA MOP7 has taken the actions recommended in the report and included them in a resolution on seabird conservation for Parties to consider for adoption at the final day of the meeting. This will hopefully generate action across much of the African-Eurasian flyway in addressing the issue of plastic pollution. The announcement was also made during plenary that the theme for World Migratory Bird Day 2019 will be “Protecting birds from plastic pollution”.

Andrew de Blocq, a penguinologist from the conservation NGO BirdLife South Africa who attended AEWA MOP7, said: “Plastic pollution is a growing threat to waterbirds and seabirds, and we as conservationists are extremely concerned about it. However, the silver lining is that people around the world are fast becoming aware of the consequences for wildlife, and we are seeing a culture change associated with a movement away from single-use plastic items and toward a more conscious, eco-friendly lifestyle.”