Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task Force

The Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task Force (SBS TF) of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP) coordinates conservation of the Critically Endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper across its entire migratory range.

It is Chaired by Christoph Zöckler from the Manfred Hermsen Foundation (MHS), Vice Chaired by Sun Lili from the Mangrove Conservation Foundation (MCF), and Coordinated by Sayam Chowdhury from the SCOPE Foundation/Bangladesh Spoon-billed Sandpiper Conservation Project (BSCP). Task Force members consist of Governmental Partners of key range states (Russian Federation, Japan, People’s Republic of China, People’s Democratic Republic of Korea, Republic of Korea, Viet Nam, Union of Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Bangladesh and India), a representative of the EAAFP Shorebird Working Group researchers, conservation organisations, conservationists, artists and other partners from across the flyway to coordinate and implement conservation actions for the species identified in the 2008 and 2025 Actions Plans.

Spoon-billed Sandpiper Action Plan 2025–2035

The new Spoon-billed Sandpiper Action Plan 2025–2035 is now available to download. This updated Action Plan sets out the key threats, objectives and priority actions needed over the next decade to halt the decline of this Critically Endangered migratory shorebird and prevent its extinction in the wild. It builds on the substantial conservation progress achieved across the flyway since the first Action Plan in 2008, including habitat protection, reductions in hunting and trapping, advances in monitoring and tracking and coordinated international collaboration. Drawing on the latest science and conservation experience, the new plan provides a shared roadmap for governments, researchers, NGOs and local communities working together to secure the long-term survival of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper.
Date: March 2026

History of SBS TF

In 2004 several partners active in the conservation of the globally threatened Spoon-billed Sandpiper joined the Recovery Team chaired by the late Evgeny Syroechkovskiy and Christoph Zöckler. With the growing demand of work, the finalization of the CMS Single Species Action Plan in 2008 and the continuing support from BirdLife International and many other organizations, it became necessary to formalise the active team to better coordinate the conservation activities along the entire flyway. In February 2010 the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Recovery Team (SBS RT) joined with the EAAFP and in December 2010 was officially endorsed by the partnership as a species Task Force (SBS TF). The Task Force had received support from many organisations and individuals over the years, and currently receives regular support from the MCF, the Manfred-Hermsen Foundation, the Biome Conservation/International Conservation Fund (ICF), the RSPB, NABU, BirdLife International, and several other organisations and individuals.

 

SBS Task Force Chair

Dr. Christoph Zöckler
Manfred Hermsen Foundation
30 Eachard Road Cambridge CB3 0HY, U.K.
E-mail: christoph.zoeckler@m-h-s.org

Bio: Dr. Christoph Zöckler studied biology in Kiel, Germany and Aberdeen, UK. His over 40 years’ work experience includes WWF, the University in Bremen, UNEP-WCMC in Cambridge, for ADB and the World Bank as well as for his own conservation projects in Russia and on wetlands and bird conservation on the EAA flyway. With the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) he developed the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Programme. In the past ten years his Arctic work increasingly encompassed climate change related issues and since 2007 advising the Manfred-Hermsen Foundation on coastal wetland conservation. In 2000 he initiated the conservation of the globally threatened Spoon-billed Sandpiper and organised the compilation of the International Species Action Plan in 2005 and 2025 and has been coordinating the Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task Force until 2024, when he became chair of the group. In 2008 his work focus included coastal wetlands in Myanmar and developing protected areas and Ramsar sites in this country. Over 130 research publications to date, and a number of DVDs and booklets.

SBS Task Force Vice Chair

Ms. Sun Lili
Founder and Board Member of Mangrove Foundation (MCF)
Shenzhen, China
Email: sunlili@mcf.org.cn 

Bio: Dr. Sun Lili, PhD in Ecology, Life Member and the 8th President of the Society of Entrepreneurs & Ecology (SEE), Founder and Deputy Board Chairman of Mangrove Conservation Foundation (MCF), Director of Futian Mangrove Ecological Park.

She participated in the establishment of several listed companies, and led the CSR efforts. To recognise her contributions as an outstanding female entrepreneur and public charity leader, she was elected as Executive Board member of the National Federation of Industry and Commerce, member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (Shenzhen), Vice Chair of Female Entrepreneurs’ Association of Shenzhen, Chair of the Environmental Protection Committee of Shenzhen Non-Governmental Organization Federation, and was awarded as Guangdong Province’s Women Pace-setter and Moral Model, China Philanthropic Person of the 2017,  2018, 2020.

Ms. Sun joined in Society of Entrepreneurs & Ecology (SEE) in Feb. 2010, and has been actively involved in the environmental protection cause since then. In July 2012, she co-founded MCF, and served as the Secretary General from Jan. 2014 to July 2018, leading the foundation in exploring and establishing a Social Participation Model for Wetlands Conservation based on the work in Shenzhen Bay. She was elected as the chairman of the EAAFP Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task Force in 2022. 2024, she was recognised as the “Women Changemakers in the World of Wetlands” by the Secretariat of the Convention on Wetlands. 2025, She was honoured as an Eco‑Civilization Figure by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

 

SBS Task Force Coordinator

Dr. Sayam  U. Chowdhury
Conservation Scientist
Founder, SCOPE Foundation
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Bio: Responding to the growing need for conservation and passion for wildlife, Dr. Sayam U. Chowdhury has been working in behavioral ecology, research and conservation of globally threatened species in Bangladesh and abroad for the past 15 years, especially on Critically Endangered birds including Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Baer’s Pochard, Endangered Masked Finfoot, Pallas’s Fish Eagle and vanishing riverine birds. An undergraduate degree in Environmental Science and MPhil degree from the University of Cambridge have complimented his career, helping him to further understand the complex conservation problems that migratory birds face and to find science-based solutions through rigorous research. His recent work is primarily focused on migratory shorebirds of the East Asian–Australasian Flyway, and developing tools for managing coastal habitats and identifying mitigation measures in response to climate change. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Conservation Research Institute, University of Cambridge and affiliated with the SCOPE Foundation.

SBS Task Force Documents

Publications

Newsletters

Related Materials

Story Book  “The Spoon-billed Sandpiper’s Special Journey”

Published by National Institute of Ecology (NIE) of Ro Korea in 2021.

Read the online English version [here].