Statement by Mr. Doug Watkins on World Migratory Bird Day 2022

Happy World Migratory Bird Day! I’m Doug Watkins the Chief Executive of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership Secretariat. As our Earth continues to become brighter by 2% each year, light pollution has become an increasing problem for nature. The artificial light our cities let out at night not only impacts the biorhythm of birds and people, but also can disorient migrating birds and cause them to collide into buildings – which is often fatal for them.

With the slogan, “Dim the Lights for Birds at Night!” WMBD this year hopes to turn a much-needed spotlight on this issue. The effects of light pollution on migratory birds unfortunately have not been extensively studied and discussed, but we hope the campaign this year will generate interest from the public and encourage concrete actions from key stakeholders to address it.

Joining the Convention on Migratory Species, the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement, Environment for the Americas, and our Partners once again this year, EAAFP is supporting this global campaign to raise awareness on the issue.

With our commitment to conserve migratory waterbirds and their habitats, the EAAFP Secretariat and Partners would like to invite everyone to dim unnecessary lights at night for the safe passage of migratory birds - not just for this year, but for the years to come. We hope this year there will be stronger efforts - including encouraging more studies and discussion for relevant policies.

This year we hope everyone will come together to bring back a safer night sky for migratory birds.

Happy World Migratory Bird Day!