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the amazing journeys these animals undertake. A number of
studies suggest that in addition to the storage and depletion
of fat, the muscles and internal organs also undergo consider-
bale change in size during the course of long-distance migra-
tions (Piersma, 1998). For the red knot (
Calidris canutus
) the
“airport” analogy fits well and illustrates just how important
it is to protect the essential refuelling sites. Red knots set off
in April with large fat reserves (fuel) from the airport “West
Coast National Park” (the Langebaan Lagoon tidal flats in South
Africa) to fly 7,000–8,000 km until they reach the tidal flats of
Guinea Bissau, the airport “Banc d’Arguin National Park” in
Mauritania. They recover the resources they lost and intensive-
ly feed for three weeks on protein-rich shellfish allowing them
to almost double in weight. The next long-haul flight of 48–72
hours in duration takes them to the UNESCO World Heritage
Site “Wadden Sea”, which is also covered by a CMS agreement
on seals. Having lost most of their “African fuel” the birds once
again refuel for the last leap to the “Great Arctic Reserve” on
Taimyr in North Siberia (Dick
et al.
, 1987; Prokosch, 1988).

International conservation cooperation within the framework
of the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) along
the East Atlantic Flyway is ongoing in an effort to protect as
many of these crucial airports (large scale tidal flats) as national
parks or other types of MPAs as possible.
Similar international conservation cooperation needs to scale
up in the region of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, where
in particular the tidal flats of the Yellow Sea are the most im-
Figure 20:
The East Asian-Australasian flyway for migratory birds.
Yellow Sea
Pacific Ocean
Indian Ocean
China
Mongolia
Australia
New Zealand
Japan
India
Alaska
Russian
Federation
Source: Van de Kam, J.,
Invisible connections,
2008.
Yellow Sea, the flyway hub
portant “airport”. Much has happened in the last two decades
along the eastern Yellow Sea coast. Traditionally, reclamation
of tidal flats was limited to agricultural purposes. However, in
only the last two decades of the 20th century, nearly 800 km
2
of coastal wetlands on the south-western coast of Korea have
been lost to reclamation for industrial development. Huge proj-
ects like Saemangeum, which enclosed 400 km
2
of tidal flats
including the two estuaries of Mangyeung and Dongjin with a
33 km long dyke, have decreased important refueling space for
Arctic shorebirds significantly.
Now, through public debate in the media about the advantages
and disadvantages of reclamation projects, local communities
are joining forces in the eastern Yellow Sea region to protect the
tidal flats from further deterioration and destruction. National
policy in South Korea is also turning from reclamation to con-
servation and wise use (Van de Kam
et al.
, 2010).
On the following pages a number of CMS-relevant case studies
of migratory birds and bats are presented.