7 December
2006 - Two million migrating birds from the Republic
of Korea will be further protected under a new
agreement between the Republic of Korea and Australia,
the Minister for the Environment and Heritage,
Senator Ian Campbell, announced today.
The signing of the Republic
of Korea – Australia Migratory Bird Agreement
by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade,
Alexander Downer and the President of the Republic
of Korea, Roh Moo-hyun highlights the two countries’
commitment to conserve migratory birds.
“This is Australia’s third bilateral
agreement for migratory bird protection in the
Asia Pacific region, joining agreements with China
and Japan,” Senator Campbell said.
“This consolidates the Australian
Government’s commitment to protect and conserve
the world’s environment.
“It also strengthens the International
Migratory Waterbird Partnership for the East Asian-Australasian
Flyway, which was officially launched in Indonesia
on 6 November 2006.
“Nine countries and six non-government
organisations (NGOs) endorsed the partnership,
which paves the way for coordinated monitoring
of waterbird populations and awareness of the
importance of conserving them.”
Senator Campbell said he was
pleased to see so many countries and NGOs in the
region committed to protecting the millions of
waterbirds that migrate from their breeding grounds
in Arctic to as far south as Australia and New
Zealand.
The birds can travel up to 13,000
kilometres on these annual migrations.
“All countries that share these
birds need to cooperate to conserve their wetland
habitats and find coordinated solutions to protect
them from their increasing threats,” Senator Campbell
said.
“The Australian Government has
been leading the development of the Migratory
Waterbird Partnership for the East Asian-Australasian
Flyway since 2002 – committing $1000,000 from
its $3 billion Natural Heritage Trust to protect
migratory waterbirds through conservation activities.
“Australia looks forward to
working closely with Indonesia, Japan, Myanmar,
the Phillipines, the Republic of Korea, Russia,
Singapore and the USA to protect the habitats
of migratory birds.”
For more information on migratory
waterbirds, visit http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/migratory/waterbirds/index.html
Rhiannon Keen
