The Asian Waterbird Census (AWC) is a regional programme to promote public participation to monitor the distribution and populations of waterbirds and status of wetlands. The AWC covers the region of Asia, from Pakistan eastwards to Japan, Southeast Asia and Australasia. AWC runs parallel to other international census of waterbirds in Africa, Europe, West Asia and Neotropics under the umbrella of the International Waterbird Census (IWC).

Information from the AWC contributes to the identification and monitoring of wetlands of international and national importance. It also assists decision-makers in designating wetlands to the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar, Iran 1971), protecting threatened species and assessing values of wetlands. The data feeds into an international programme to maintain an overview of the population size, status and trends of waterbirds. 

Ongoing effort

The census has been an ongoing effort since 1987. It is conducted by a large network of volunteers working through national coordinators. The AWC network is coordinated by Wetlands International. The Census has been annually organised during the second and third weeks of January. More information on the AWC can be found in the subpages of this webpage.

We encourage volunteers to participate in the census and report their data to the national coordinator in the earliest for compiling of national and regional reports. 

Contact

To get the latest information on AWC, please contact Wetlands International at the following address: 

Wetlands International 
3A39, Block A Kelana Centre Point 
Jalan SS7/19 47301 Petaling Jaya, 
Selangor, 
MALAYSIA 
Tel: +60-3-7804 6770 
Fax: +60-3-7804 6772 
E-mail: bharat.jethva@wi-sa.org