ZEISS Supporting the Conservation of Rare Shorebirds

Together with its long-time partner BirdLife International, ZEISS is pleased to announce its new role as BirdLife Species Champion for the spotted greenshank. The spotted greenshank is considered an endangered shorebird and migratory bird whose population continues to decline due to dwindling habitat. With its financial support and donation of optical devices, ZEISS is providing important resources to support the local BirdLife partner, the Conservation Society of Thailand (BCST), in its work to protect refuge areas for the birds on the Gulf of Thailand coast during the winter months. “We believe we have a special responsibility to promote sustainability, and through this partnership, we want to play an active role in protecting nature and the habitats of this endangered species for a long time to come,” said Petra Kregelius-Schmidt, Global Marketing Manager for Nature Observation at ZEISS.

ZEISS is committed to numerous projects and initiatives aimed at protecting plants, animals, and their habitats as part of its sustainability strategy. In this context, the spotted greenshank is a special bird species worth protecting not only because it is particularly endangered, but also because of its unique way of building nests on trees. To contribute to the conservation of the species, ZEISS is financially supporting BirdLife International’s new project and providing numerous optical devices for the charitable organization’s work on site. “In the winter, the majority of spotted greenshanks seem to retreat to wetlands in Thailand and Malaysia,” explained Ding Li Yong, coordinator of BirdLife Asia’s Flyways program. As a result, new shorebird conservation areas and wetland monitoring and protection management along the Gulf of Thailand are being established by BCST to stabilize the population with larger protected areas.

In addition to these measures, however, the local community’s interest and involvement in the conservation of these and other threatened shorebird species is critical. BCST is therefore committed to establishing local conservation groups and strengthening collaboration with local authorities to address further threats in the areas. “We are thrilled to become a BirdLife Species Champion for the spotted greenshank and to support this new project,” Kregelius-Schmidt said. “The spotted greenshank is another example of an endangered migratory bird that is in desperate need of help. This makes it all the more important to support BirdLife’s research and conservation efforts to protect it in its wintering grounds.”

Additional information about BirdLife International’s Species Champions can be found at Birdlife.org, along with other conservation projects on our ZEISS Nature Observation blog.