Sanjiang Plain Wetland Protection, PRC, China

• Client: Asia Development Bank and Global Environment Facility
• Components: Wetland and biodiversity conservation project

Reviewed biodiversity resources of the 110,000 km2 Sanjiang Plain, Heilongjiang Province; assessed economic development potential of biodiversity resources; prioritized sites for protection based on analysis of agricultural threats; identified co-management opportunities; developed quantitative indicators of wetland condition; identified options for habitat restoration; developed GEF project brief and incremental cost analysis.

Intergrated Coastal Zone Mangement and Coastal Protection in Leizhou, China

• Client: Arcadis Euroconsult
• Components: Natural resources management

Design and implement the coastal management plan for Zhanjiang Mangrove National Nature Reserve, a Ramsar site in Leizhou Peninsula, China. Technical inputs are provided in areas including establishment of the reserve, mangrove reforestation, staff training, biosphere resource inventories, mangrove management and land use planning, public awareness and environmental education programmes.

UNDP/GEF Sustainable Use of Wetlands in Heilongjiang Province, China

• Client: UNDP / GEF
• Components: Identify conservation priorities and develop nature reserve management plans

5-year wetland biodiveristy conservation project in Heilongjiang Province. International Protected Area Management Specialist from Ecosystems proposed expansions of protected areas, integration with existing and planned protected area system, enchance monitoring of biodiversity, and addressed local community interests.

South China Tiger Survey & Census, China

• Coordinator: US Fish & Wildlife Service Tiger & Rhino Fund and Save China’s Tigers
• Components: Survey nature reserves for sign of surviving tiger

Cooperate with State Forestry Administration and Minnesota Zoo Conservation Program to survey for large felids and their prey in South China using line-transect surveys and camera-traps.

ADB TA 3376-PRC Songhua River Flood, Wetland, and Biodiversity Management, China

• Client: Asian Development Bank
• Components: Flood control and wetland biodiversity conservation

9-month project in Heilongliang, Jilin, and Inner Mongolia, China. Ecosystems identified biodiversity conservation priorities, and developed conservation management plans for the Sanjiang Plain, China’s largest freshwater wetland. Prepared a draft Project Brief, proposed expansions of protected area network.

JICA Bali Beach Conservation, Indonesia

• Client: Nippon Koei Co., Ltd.
• Components: Environmental Survey, field program management, impact assessment and reporting

Environmental Specialist for beach restoration project. Advised local research and monitoring teams on monitoring and analysis mehtods for coral reef, seagrass bed flora and fauna. Monitored field sampling methods and reporting for water quality and turbidity.

Conservation of Key Wetland Sites in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

• Client: BirdLife International Vietnam Programme
• Components: Field research planning, data analysis, reporting and editing

15-month survey of wetland biodiversity conservation sites in Vietnam’s largest river delta. The project will use the findings of field surveys to rank wetlands in the Mekong Delta in terms of priority for conservation action. Ecosystems Ltd. specified methodology and scheduling of field studies, prescribed wetland ranking methods, and identified criteria for designating key sites for national or international conservation protection.

Mekong Delta Wetland and Important Bird Area Survey, Vietnam

• Client: BirdLife International Vietnam Programme
• Components: Field team supervision/assessment, data analysis, reporting and editing

This study encompassed survey, assessment and ranking of important wetland bird areas in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Ecosystems Ltd. was responsible for assessing the progress of field teams, and reviewing and editing reports produced by the teams.

Black-faced Spoonbill Winter Range Census

• Components: Field survey, data analysis and reporting, regional information exchange and networking

Bird watching groups of a few asia countries collected seasonal data for the study to estimate the world population of the highly endangered waterbird Black-faced Spoonbill Platalea minor , and to identify and assess wintering and migration stopover sites used by the species.

The Black-faced Spoonbill is considered a Critically Endangered species. The highest estimate of world population to date is 613 individuals, based on winter 1997-98 census. Its wintering sites are under pressure from habitat destruction and pollution by human activities in densely-settled areas, notably in Taiwan, Hong Kong, PRC and Vietnam. Knowledge of summer and breeding sites is extremely limited. The purpose of this study was to establish a solid estimate of numbers during the winter season, when the birds’ locations are relatively well known, and to establish population trends over time, to provide a basis for conservation action.

The project supported field biologists in China and Vietnam to undertake winter season field surveys, and coordinated census efforts and collated data from these countries as well as from Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Hong Kong. The study assessed and ranked the conservation status of the wintering/stopover sites and the threats to each, and identified actions required to provide adequate protection at each site. The project also developed a contact network among spoonbill researchers in each of the range states to facilitate communication.

Results of the study to date have included the most comprehensive and long-term population estimates available for the species, identification of new wintering/stopover sites, improved understanding of the species’ wintering habits and habitat preferences, better communication between researchers studying the species, and improved awareness of the conservation status of the species among specialists and the public.

Wintering and stopover sites used by the species are also important to a range of other waterbirds in East Asia, some of which are rare or endangered. Accordingly, effective protection of Spoonbill habitat would have a positive knock-on effect for other species at risk, as well as protecting the wetland and coastal sites which are themselves under increasing threat from human development of coastal areas.

The project was supported in 1994-95 by the World Nature Association, a non-profit conservation organisation based in the USA. The project continues with funding from Ecosystems Ltd.

China Environment Initiative, PRC

• Client: Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID)
• Lead consultant: CMPS&F Pty Ltd., Hassall and Associates Pty Ltd.
• Duration: in 1997
• Components: Development of aid strategy

The project identified a new regional and subsectoral strategy for AusAID environmental assistance to the PRC for the five-year period 1998-2002. The project team made site visits and met with project proponents, national-level officials and other international funding agencies to assess 12 potential projects for AusAID assistance. Projects were located in Guangxi, Guizhou, Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Shanxi, Hebei and Heilongjiang. The team reviewed the feasibility of the potential projects, recommended design modifications where necessary to bring projects into line with AusAID priorities, and provided priority rankings for large, medium and small scale projects and for short-duration and long-duration projects.