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South-east Asia's diverse coastal wetlands, which span natural mudflats and mangroves to man-made salt pans, offer critical habitat for many migratory waterbird species in the East Asian–Australasian Flyway. Species dependent on these wetlands include nearly the entire population of the Critically Endangered spoon-billed sandpiper Calidris pygmaea and the Endangered spotted greenshank Tringa guttifer, and significant populations of several other globally threatened and declining species. Presently, more than 50 coastal Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) in the region (7.4% of all South-east Asian IBAs) support at least one threatened migratory species. However, recent studies continue to reveal major knowledge gaps on the distribution of migratory waterbirds and important wetland sites along South-east Asia's vast coastline, including undiscovered and potential IBAs. Alongside this, there are critical gaps in the representation of coastal wetlands across the protected area networks of many countries in this region (e.g. Viet Nam, Indonesia, Malaysia), hindering effective conservation. Although a better understanding of the value of coastal wetlands to people and their importance to migratory species is necessary, governments and other stakeholders need to do more to strengthen the conservation of these ecosystems by improving protected area coverage, habitat restoration, and coastal governance and management. This must be underpinned by the judicious use of evidence-based approaches, including satellite-tracking of migratory birds, ecological research and ground surveys.

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Nearly the entire (98%) and over a third of the East Asian population of Brent Geese stage in Notsuke Bay and nearby sites of eastern Hokkaido, Japan, during autumn and spring migration, respectively,. Despite the region’s importance as a refueling site for migrating Brent Geese, little is known about how these migrants use specific sites within this region. In this study, we investigated the seasonal variation in the movements and use of four key sites in the eastern Hokkaido using radio telemetry. Notsuke Bay was the primary staging area for Brent Goose in both seasons, but there were frequent movements between Furen Lake in fall and between Kunashiri Island in spring. The three sites lie in close proximity to one another in the Nemuro Strait, enabling relatively quick (<30 minutes) flights between sites. Consequently, these sites may be considered as one continuous habitat during migration. Brent Geese primarily foraged on eelgrass beds at night in fall and during the day in the spring. The occupancy rates of marked geese within the protected areas of Notsuke Bay and Furen Lake were 74% and 71% during autumn, and 64% and 87% during spring, respectively. However, extending the buffer to 3 km from the boundaries of the protected areas resulted in residency rates exceeding 90% during both seasons. To effectively conserve these important staging sites in the Nemuro Strait, we recommend expanding the protected areas and including connecting waters between Notsuke Bay and Kunashiri Island and Furen Lake.