Myanmar: Myanmar Shorebirds Get Four-Fold Expansion in Protected Wetland

Apr 3, 2020 | Ding Li Yong, BirdLife International
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Twenty years ago, few conservationists knew about the Gulf of Mottama and the secrets hidden within its complex coastline. Its location in southern Myanmar is, like many parts of the country, rugged and difficult to access. However, in the early 2010s, everything changed when surveys lead by BANCA (BirdLife in Myanmar) and international experts from the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task Force revealed more than 200 Spoon-billed Sandpipers Calidris pygmaea overwintering there – fifty percent of the world’s population. This makes the Gulf of Mottama the region’s single most important site for the Critically Endangered wader.