Waterbird flyways and history of international cooperation for waterbird conservation

Abstract

Many waterbirds are migratory along flyways which connect their breeding, staging and non-breeding areas, and for conservation purposes can be considered under single-species migration systems, multispecies flyways and global regions for water-bird conservation management. There are different types of flyway-scale initiatives: Facilitative, formal or legally binding; bilateral or multilateral. A wide range of outcomes are sought through international flyway cooperation, but there are continuing major challenges to achieving successful migratory waterbird conservation.