The Critically Endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Eurynorhynchus pygmeus), which is listed on both CMS Appendices, will benefit from better conservation through an International Single Species Action Plan. The report with current data on distribution, threats and recommended activities to prevent this species from becoming extinct, has been published by the Convention on Migratory Species and BirdLife International.

The Action Plan comprises a broad range of activities co-ordinated by BirdLife International with financial support from CMS. During the Plan’s development, regional networks of ornithologists and conservationists were established among the range states of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper ranging from South Asia, South East Asia, East Asia and north-eastern Russia. The conservation measures proposed in the Action Plan aim to ensure legal protection of breeding sites, restore claimed wetland sites and stop hunting and trapping at key sites.

The tiny population of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper is undergoing a dramatic decline. A number of threats such as habitat loss in breeding, passage and wintering grounds, human disturbance, hunting and the impact of climate change has put the species at serious risk. Since the 1970s the number of breeding pairs has been reduced to a tenth of its original level to an estimated 150 to 320 pairs only.

Industry, infrastructure and aquaculture destroy the tidal flats used by the Spoon-billed Sandpiper as stepping stones during its migration. This poses a major threat to this long-distant migrant, which travels 8,000 km between its breeding grounds in Russia and its wintering grounds in Eastern and Southern Asia.

Current conservation activities include establishing protected areas in the bird’s breeding, staging and wintering areas, undertaking annual surveys of breeding sites and reducing hunting pressure. In addition, education and awareness programmes should be undertaken. An international monitoring system shall observe possible success of the conservation measures.

In 2010 the CMS Secretariat funded a project in Myanmar to understand the socio-economic conditions of hunters and their villages, and to propose alternative livelihoods. The information gathered is already being used as a basis for immediate action as well as for the long-term   conservation of the species.

The Action Plan will be a very useful tool for policy makers and national authorities, as it outlines the priority measures that have to be undertaken to improve the conservation status of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper.

The publication is expected to help raise awareness on the status of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper and to encourage further research and monitoring in the field along with implementing conservation activities. The Action Plan is designed to further enhance regional cooperation towards ensuring the long-term survival of the species.