Waterbirds Are Disappearing Across Taiwan, China! Six-Year Monitoring Results Released, Yilan Rice Fields and Changhua Mudflats Hit Hardest

12 species of waterbirds in Taiwan, China have declined significantly in number! The "Taiwan New Year Bird Count Carnival" survey team, made up of the Endemic Species Research Institute and domestic wild bird associations, spent 6 years jointly monitoring waterbirds and recorded nearly 330,000 bird occurrences. Analysis of the results found that waterbirds such as the Kentish plover, common greenshank, common sandpiper and long-toed stint have declined markedly on the main island of Taiwan, China and its offshore islands, while only the common moorhen increased in number.

Lin Jui-hsing, section chief at the Endemic Species Research Institute, said waterbirds are an important environmental indicator, and a decline in waterbirds means the environment is deteriorating. In the future, the area and habitat quality of various wetland environments must be maintained and protected from pollution and human development; for example, sites for solar panels must be chosen carefully. The survey data will also be linked with data from the international wetlands alliance, filling in an important piece of the puzzle for the status of waterbirds in East Asia.<