SCIENCE sciencemag.org 21 AUGUST 2020 • VOL 369 ISSUE 6506 929
waterbirds rest in the area ( 6 ), including the
Endangered black-faced spoonbill (Platalea
minor) and spoon-billed sandpiper (Calidris
pygmaea) ( 7 , 8 ). There is no other suitable
waterbird habitat that could serve as an
alternative resting area ( 9 ). To protect rare
waterbirds, we must protect their habitats
from reclamation.
China’s coastal wetland protection
contains substantial gaps ( 10 ). Of the 110
waterbird priority conservation sites, 67
are located outside the protected area ( 11 ).
The Chinese government must take bio-
diversity conservation needs into account
before proceeding with reclamation projects.
National parks, nature reserves, and other
protections should be designated to fill the
gaps in the current system. The addition of
the Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf (Phase I) to the
World Heritage List in 2019 is a step in the
right direction ( 12 ). To further strengthen
protections, China should fund the investi-
gation and monitoring of migratory birds on
coastal wetlands ( 4 ) and carry out ecosystem
restoration in the reclamation region.
Yi Wu, Wenwen Zhang, Fan Yong, Daqing Zhou,
Peng Cui
Key Laboratory of Biosafety, State Environmental
Protection Scientific Observation and Research
Station for Ecology and Environment of Wuyi
Mountains, Nanjing Institute of Environmental
Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment,
Nanjing 210042, China.
Corresponding author.
Email: [email protected]
REFERENCES AND NOTES
- Q. Bai et al., Avian Res. 6 , 12 (2015).
- H. Yang et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 114 ,
201706111 (2017). - C. E. Studds et al., Nat. Commun. 8 , 14895 (2017).
- G. C. Lei, Z. W. Zhang, X. B. Yu, M. X. Zhang, “Blueprint of
coastal wetland conservation and management in China
(Higher Education Press, Beijing, 2017), pp. 227–239
[in Chinese]. - X. P. Bao, Z. Zhang, B. Q. lv, P. Y. Bao, Y. D. Ma, Ocean Dev.
Manag. 31 , 65 (2014) [in Chinese]. - Kuaidianwenzhou team, “Protect the stopover site for
global migratory waterbirds in Wenzhou Bay,” Sohu
(2019); http://www.sohu.com/a/306942021_467914
[in Chinese]. - BirdLife International, Platalea minor (The IUCN Red List
of Threatened Species, 2017). - BirdLife International, Calidris pygmaea (The IUCN Red
List of Threatened Species, 2018). - H. R. Jiang, Chin. Nat. 3 , 68 (2019) [in Chinese].
- T. T. Ma, X. W. Li, J. H. Bai, B. S. Cui, Glob. Ecol. Conserv. 17 ,
e00585 (2019). - S. Xia et al., Biol. Conserv. 210 , 72 (2017).
- UNESCO, World Heritage List: Migratory Bird Sanctuaries
along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China (Phase
I) (2019); http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1606.
10.1126/science.abc9000
Protect the giant ibis
through the pandemic
The giant ibis (Thaumatibis gigantea),
Cambodia’s national bird, is edging toward
extinction. The ibis’s historical range
stretched across Southeast Asia, but only
194 Critically Endangered individuals
remain, constrained to the northeastern
region of Cambodia ( 1 ). The small popula-
tion suffers from habitat loss and distur-
bance caused by human activities, and
tensions between humans and wildlife
have escalated during the coronavirus dis-
ease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In April,
3 giant ibises and more than 100 other
birds were poached in Cambodia’s Chhep
Wildlife Sanctuary ( 2 ). To save the giant
ibis, conservation efforts must continue,
even during the pandemic.
Giant ibises nest in forests and frequent
nearby wetlands, where they prey on
frogs, insects, and larvae ( 3 ), all histori-
cally plentiful in their habitats. However,
extensive clearance of Cambodia’s lowland
dry forest for agro-industry, coupled with
widespread wetland agricultural drain-
age, has disrupted the ecosystems on
which the ibises depend. Under China’s
Belt and Road Initiative ( 4 ), new roads
are planned to run through the Siem
Pang District in northeast Cambodia, as
well as protected forests in the Keo Seima
Wildlife Sanctuary in eastern Cambodia,
further disrupting the ibis’s habitats ( 5 ).
Hydroelectric dams on the Mekong River
and its tributaries will change water levels
in riverine wetlands, potentially decreas-
ing habitat quality and affecting ibis prey
species ( 6 , 7 ).
As their habitats diminish, ibises are
also vulnerable to climate fluctuations.
Prolonged drought in the 2009–2010 dry
seasons decreased ibis breeding rates
by about 50% ( 4 ). Potential increases in
drought severity due to climate change
could replicate these declines ( 8 ).
To conserve the giant ibis population,
we must protect key habitats, enforce
environmental regulations, and reconcile
conservation and agricultural develop-
ment through trade-offs between land-
sparing, wildlife-friendly farming and
intensification to increase yields from
smaller farmland areas ( 9 ). It is also
essential to ensure that local people ben-
efit from conservation, especially during
uncertain times such as the COVID-19
pandemic. International tourists spent
more than US$100,000 visiting Cambodia
to view giant ibises in the past decade
( 2 ). With global tourism in decline for
an indeterminate period of time, this
income will decrease, and pressure on
the environment may increase. Planning
for the return of tourists should focus
on community-based eco-tourism initia-
tives, such as those developed at some
Cambodian wetland protected areas ( 10 ).
With financial and institutional support
from international nongovernmental orga-
nizations, local communities can buildthe infrastructure they will need to host
future domestic and international tour-
ists. By preparing to provide eco-tourism
services, these communities can benefit
from alternative income sources once
tourism resumes, thereby allowing them
to continue their support for the conser-
vation of the giant ibis and the region’s
other endangered species.
Hong Yang1,2*, Mingguo Ma^1 , Julian R. Thompson^3 ,
Roger J. Flower^3(^1) Chongqing Engineering Research Center for
Remote Sensing Big Data Application, School of
Geographical Sciences, Southwest University,
Chongqing 400715, China.^2 Department of
Geography and Environmental Science, University
of Reading, Reading RG6 6AB, UK.^3 Department
of Geography, University College London, London,
WC1E 6BT, UK.
*Corresponding author.
Email: [email protected]
REFERENCES AND NOTES
- BirdLife International, Thaumatibis gigantea
(The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, 2018). - Wildlife Conservation Society, “COVID-19 fueling an
uptick in poaching: Three critically endangered giant
ibis—Cambodia’s national bird—killed in protected
area” (2020). - O. Keo, Birding Asia 9 , 100 (2008).
- A. M. Lechner, F. K. S. Chan, A. Campos-Arceiz, Nat. Ecol.
Evol. 2 , 408 (2018). - R. Loveridge, S. Ty, “Ten-year species action plan for the
giant ibis (Thaumatibis gigantea) in Cambodia 2015–
2025” (BirdLife International Cambodia Programme,
Cambodia, 2015). - J. E. Chastant, D. E. Gawlik, Waterbirds 41 , 35 (2018).
- A. H. Claassen, “Abundance, distribution, and reproductive
success of sandbar nesting birds below the Yali Falls hydro-
power dam on the Sesan River, Northeastern Cambodia”
(World Wildlife Foundation/Danida/Wildlife Conservation
Society/BirdLife International, Cambodia, 2004). - T. Amnuaylojaroen, P. Chanvichit, Clim. Change 155 ,
175 (2019). - B. Phalan, M. Onial, A. Balmford, R. E. Green, Science 333 ,
1289 (2011). - Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, “Cambodia: The kingdom of
wetlands” (2019); http://www.wwt.org.uk/news/2019/09/20/
cambodia-the-land-of-wetlands/17652#.
10.1126/science.abd0141
E R RATA
Erratum for the Perspective “Opening the floodgates
at Fukushima” by K. O. Buesseler, Science 369 ,
eabe3043 (2020). Published online 21 August 2020;
10.1126/science.abe3043Erratum for the Report: “Anti-Markovnikov alcohols
via epoxide hydrogenation through cooperative
catalysis” by C. Yao et al., Science 368 , eabc6177
(2020). Published online 8 May 2020;
10.1126/science.abc6177Erratum for the Report: “Widely tunable compact
terahertz gas lasers” by P. Chevalier et al., Science
368 , eabc5418 (2020). Published online 8 May 2020;
10.1126/science.abc5418Erratum for the Review “On the essentials of
drought in a changing climate” by T. R. Ault, Science
368 , eabc4034 (2020). Published online 24 April
2020; 10.1126/science.abc4034INSIGHTSPublished by AAAS