From birds to tigers, primates: Asia Pacific's biodiversity mission

This is spoon-billed sandpiper, or "Spoonie", one of the most critically endangered species in the world.

A 2022 estimate by Birdlife International, a worldwide conservation NGO, put its population at fewer than 500 adults in the entire globe.

Every year, "Spoonies" travel between Russia ,where they breed, to Southeast Asia, where they winter through the East Asian – Australasian Flyway (EAAF).

"Spoonies" are just one out of hundreds of species that rely on the route, which is the busiest flyway in the world supporting about 50 million birds' migration.

The route, stretching from the Russian tundra to New Zealand's coasts and covering over 30 countries and regions from Asia all the way southward to Australasia, overlaps with the Asia Pacific region.

In fact, 15 out of the 21 members in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum have joined the EAAF partnership, a network of partners within the flyway for the conservation of migratory birds.

The "Spoonie" population continues declining, despite intensive conservation efforts, according to a 2022 article by Birdlife International. This is one example of the region's commitment to biodiversity preservation, but also the difficulties it still faces.

Nature loss accelerating

The Asia Pacific region is exceptionally rich in biodiversity.

From the Arctic tundra in Russia to the tropical forests of Southeast Asia, from the "Roof of the World", or the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau in China, to the "coral triangle" between the Pacific and Indian oceans, the Asia Pacific's biodiversity is among the most unique on Earth.

However, that richness is in fast decline.

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the region recorded the world's highest number of threatened species in 2014 and extensive coastal development and unsustainable exploitation of marine resources have resulted in the disappearance of over 40 percent of coral reefs and mangroves, leading to declines in fish stocks.

Studies have also shown up to 42 percent of biodiversity in Southeast Asia could vanish by the end of this century and at least half of these would be global extinctions.

The accelerating rate of nature loss will have an enormous impact.

According to the World Economic Forum, nature loss in the region will profoundly damage economic activities that rely on natural capital, with as much as 63 percent ($19 trillion) of Asia Pacific's GDP at risk – a higher share than the global average.

Racing against time

In 2022, the UN biodiversity conference, COP15, co-hosted by Canada and China, adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), with more than 190 signatory states agreeing to protect 30 percent of the lands and waters on earth, cut global food waste in half and mobilize at least $200 billion annually in global biodiversity funding by 2030, among other goals.

Various initiatives are underway in this region to try to reverse the trend.

The EAAF partnership currently has 40 partners including national governments, intergovernmental agencies and international NGOs to conserve migratory waterbirds and their habitats.

Six countries in Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea, launched the Coral Triangle Initiative in 2009 to protect one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world, which is home to 76 percent of the world's coral species and supports the livelihoods of millions through fishing, tourism and coastal protection services.

China and Russia have been working together since 2010 to protect the Siberian tigers and Amur leopards, two of the most endangered felines in the world.

In the meantime, China and Vietnam are collaborating to offer a sanctuary to the eastern black crested gibbons, one of the world's most critically endangered primates.

(Cover image via CFP)