ONLINE: Securing Waters for Cranes, Ourselves and Our World

media release: International Crane Foundation webinar by Rich Beilfuss.

Cranes depend on wetlands and their waters throughout the world to meet their needs for breeding, feeding, roosting, migrating, wintering, social mixing and much more. From small wetlands on farm fields, to flooded forests, coastal marshes and immense river-floodplains, wetlands support threatened cranes and a wealth of other species of plants and animals. These wetlands also sustain life on earth as we know it, with clean water for our homes, farms, fisheries, livestock and many other needs.

But the magnificent places where cranes and waters meet are in trouble, everywhere. Dams, water diversions, drainage, water pollution, sea-level rise, fires and invasive species all threaten our wetlands and waters, made worse by increasing droughts and floods associated with our changing climate.

To secure waters for cranes, ourselves and our world, the International Crane Foundation works at many levels, from the specific water requirements of cranes, to the health of their wetland habitats, the management of surrounding watersheds and the sustainable development of entire river basins. Our solutions lie in bringing together communities, developers, managers, decision-makers and conservationists to find common ground for sharing wetlands and water with wildlife.

We will explore the role of cranes as sentinels and flagships for sustainable water management around the world. We will share stories and lessons from our efforts to restore wetlands in Vietnam, better manage the string of wetlands along the East Asian flyway, and rethink large dams and their outflows for people and wildlife in the Zambezi River Basin of Southern Africa.

Sponsored by Charles and Sue Bradley.