News Blog

The eBird and Merlin Asia Meeting took place on 28–29 October in Songdo, Republic of Korea, bringing together key partners from across the Flyways - East Asian-Australasian and Central Asian Flyways. Dr Bernhard Seliger and Dr Hyun-Ah Choi of the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) Korea participated alongside partners, including Nature Foundation, Wildlife Science and Conservation Centre of Mongolia, Hong Kong Bird Watching Society, and Birds Korea. The meeting aimed to strengthen regional collaboration for bird conservation and enhance knowledge exchange across Asia. To date, more than 2.3 billion bird records have been collected through eBird, the world’s largest citizen-science platform, accounting for over half of all known biodiversity data. While the first billion observations took until 2021, the second billion were...

"Global Flyways, the Emerging Central Asian Flyway Initiative, and Habitat Conservation" 📆 Date: Tuesday, 14 October 2025 🕓 Time: 10:00 – 17:00 (Almaty time, GMT +6) 🗣 Language: English We are pleased to invite you to this international event, focusing on the protection of migratory birds along global flyways and the growing importance of the Central Asian Flyway Initiative. Together with experts from science, conservation, and international organizations, we will discuss strategies to preserve critical habitats and strengthen cross-border cooperation. 👉 How to Participate: Register via the following link or simply scan the QR code: 🔗 https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/ado4jy0FScu-oSxGn6QZMw We look forward to welcoming you to this important exchange!

Strengthening Flyway Conservation: The Role of Hanns Seidel Foundation We are proud to share that Dr. Bernhard Seliger and Dr. Hyun-Ah Choi of the Hanns Seidel Foundation Korea have published a new peer-reviewed article highlighting our role in international cooperation for migratory bird conservation. Special thanks to Ms. Minjae Baek for her dedicated coordination of the GMACC Project (2023–2024) - this achievement would not have been possible without her efforts. Together, let’s continue building bridges for biodiversity.  Citation: CHOI, H.A. and SELIGER, B. 2025. Strengthening flyway conservation through NGOs' engagement: Case of Hanns Seidel Foundation. Avian Research, 100287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avrs.2025.100287. Read the full article on ScienceDirect:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2053716625000660?via%3Dihub#ack0010

  On June 18, 2025, the Hanns Seidel Foundation Korea hosted a Virtual Masterclass Webinar titled “Cooperation to Enhance the Central Asian Flyway (CAF) Initiative”. Participants from CAF range countries such as India, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, and Bhutan joined the event. The focus was on the protection of migratory birds along the CAF. Topics included the work of the Secretariat of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), the conservation of the Great Bustard in Uzbekistan, the role of civil society in the Flyway Initiative, and possible next steps for regional cooperation. Tillmann Schneider (Avian Species Team, CMS Secretariat) delivered the special presentation on the CMS’s role and current activities. He highlighted the various roles of the Convention as well as the importance...

As climate change accelerates and water insecurity grows, the High-Level International Conference on Glaciers’ Preservation, hosted by the Government of Tajikistan with support from the United Nations and international partners - including the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) - emerges as a timely and urgent initiative. The conference, held from 29 to 31 May 2025 in Dushanbe, brought together stakeholders from around the world to address the urgent challenges of glacier retreat. The HSF delegation, representing offices in Tajikistan and Korea, participated alongside regional partners to contribute to the discourse on sustainable solutions for glacier conservation. Organized within the framework of the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation, this landmark event aimed to raise awareness, foster international collaboration, and promote coordinated responses to...

From January 28-31, 2025, in Musov in Southern Moravia, a meeting of more than 80 specialists on nature protection took place to discuss the worldwide status and development of different goose species. Goose are among the most visible and well-known migratory birds. IUCN is the largest international actor in nature conservation efforts. It works mainly through expert and specialist groups. Hanns-Seidel-Foundation Korea works together with partners in Northeast and Central Asia on issues of the East Asia Australasian and Central Asian flyway of migratory birds. The emergence of the initiative for the Central Asian Flyway opens windows for political and policy cooperation among governments and also NGO in the region. While some species saw – in particular after the reduction of...

The workshop and training on Bar-headed Goose  - an iconic waterbird of Central Asia Flyway (CFA) is an upcomin event on the 20th of July, organized by Hanns Seidel Foundation, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism and the Wildlife Science Conservation Center of Mongolia.  In the CFA, the bar-headed Goose is an iconic waterbird and benefiting from the crucial major flyway. During their migratory route, they pass several countries which led those countries to work together towards the essential conservation of migratory birds.  The most common breeding grounds for the Bar-headed Goose is in China and India which is why experts from those an other Central Asian countries will come together at this workshop to share their knowledge and strategies for conservation of...

Under the title "Flight for survival: Addressing illegal kiling, taking, and trade of migratory birds and impacts of energy infrastructure in the Central Asian Flyway", a digital meeting will be held on the 19th of July in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.   Through this workshop, the call for actions to share the current status of over 180 migratory waterbird species and their habitats situation will be shared and focused on. The Central Asian Flyway (CAF) is stretching from the Arctic to the Indian Ocean and hosts a remarkable diversity of avian life. But not only natural dangers such as climate change make the life more difficult for avian species, also human-made problems such as killing, taking, and trading (IKTT) pose a threat. All threats...

Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) Korea published a report on results from Inter-Flyways Workshop 2024. HSF would like to express our gratitude to all participants, especially to Spike Millington at International Crane Foundation for working on the report together. On 10 February 2024, Samarkand, Uzbekistan. HSF organized the Inter-Flyways Workshop 2024 under the HSF's Global project for Mitigation and Adaptation to Climate Change. Experts in flyways, conservation, biodiversity, wetlands, and climate change shared experiences, successes, and challenges in conservation. They discussed engaging key stakeholders, strengthening on-ground implementation, increasing resources, and encouraging collaboration and communication among various initiatives.    Link - report of the Inter-Flyways Workshop 2024 : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bKm_Vs4mToakBpRR64dYM7qy7NOKv-U7/view?usp=sharing