WCC 2016 Res 026 - Activity Report

Following the successful holding of the International Symposium on the Coastal Wetlands of Yellow (Bohai) Sea Yancheng for two consecutive years in 2017 and 2018, the Yancheng Yellow Sea Wetland World Heritage Declaration has gathered a broad international consensus. With the theme of World Natural Heritage Conservation Management & Sustainable Development, 2019 Yellow & Bohai Sea Wetlands International Conference was successfully held in Yancheng City, Jiangsu Province, China, from September 28 to 30, 2019. Representatives from governments, as well as important international organizations, well-known research institutions, enterprises and other representatives in 22 countries, which more than 400 guests attended the conference.

The exchanges and cooperation between the areas and cities along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF) have opened up new prospects. During the meeting, representatives from countries along the EAAF, such as Russia, the United States, New Zealand, South Korea, the Philippines, Cambodia etc. as well as representatives from Chinese cities such as Tianjin, Shanghai, Dongying etc., jointly adopted the “East Asian-Australasian Flyway City Alliance Initiative Proposal”.

UNESCO World Heritage Committee decided to inscribe “the Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of the Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China (Phase I)” into the World Heritage List, at the 43 session of the World Heritage Convention.

The China National Forestry and Grassland Administration held the 1st Working Group Meeting of the Leaders on the Nomination for World Heritage of “The Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of the Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China (Phase II)”, and application for world heritage of the Phase II has officially launched. During the meeting, a plenary meeting of the 2nd Meeting of Alliance Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow & Bohai Sea was held, and the alliance unified logo was published.