As a key event of the 2026 Yancheng International Bird-watching Carnival, the International Symposium on Migratory Bird Conservation and Sustainable Development of Bird-watching Economy was held in Yancheng on September 11. Centered on the theme Safeguarding Migratory Birds, Sustaining the Natural Heritage, the event gathered experts and representatives from international organisations, global natural heritage sites and research institutions via hybrid online-offline participation.
Delegates from the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership Secretariat, the Paulson Institute, the Mangrove Foundation, World Heritage Promotion Team of Korean Tidal Flats, the Wadden Sea Office of Germany and research bodies, as well as Chinese universities shared insights on flyway joint conservation, spoon-billed sandpiper protection, bird-watching-driven local economy, nature education and eco-tourism. They jointly explored practical paths for migratory bird protection and sound development of the bird-watching economy.
Yancheng has kept advancing conservation and restoration for the Yellow-Bohai Sea Migratory Bird Habitat, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. By developing nature study tours and bird-watching businesses, the city converts wetland ecological resources into tangible ecological and tourism benefits. The symposium serves as a vital exchange platform for sites along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. It boosts the global profile of Yancheng Bird-watching Carnival, demonstrates local conservation outcomes, and enhances Yancheng’s reputation as “International Wetland, Coastal Green City”.
Prior to the symposium, a spoon-billed sandpiper science outreach lecture took place on September 10 at Xindu Road Experimental School, Yancheng’s first “Spoon-billed Sandpiper School”. Dr. Sun Lili from the Mangrove Foundation delivered a special lecture for nearly 300 students and teachers. Participants watched migration documentaries, visited wet-land science displays and received popular-science books, fostering youth awareness of nature and wildlife protection.
