Birds are regarded as a kind of valuable natural resources indispensable to human life and ecosystem.

Of them, migratory birds move a long distance from one place to another according to seasons, linking different nations around the world and bringing lots of benefits to ecosystem and human life directly or indirectly.

However, wetlands constituting the major habitats, stopovers and breeding places of the migrants have recently been damaged around the world due to the expansion of farmland, urbanization, water pollution and the like, with the result that the number of their species and individuals is rapidly decreasing.

According to ornithologists, the extinction of a bird species adversely affects over a hundred species of other living things connected with it. If wetlands continue to be damaged and finally disappear, the species and population of the migrants will keep diminishing, having grave consequences on the global ecosystem.

The Species Survival Committee of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature released a report saying that there are more than 8 600 species of birds in the world and over 1 000, or nearly 12 percent, of them, are on the verge of extinction . The most threatened species among those moving along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF) are red knot, great knot, Limosa limosa, Numenius madagascariensis and Eurynorhyncus pygmeus.

In 2006, the international community decided to fix second Saturday and Sunday of May as World Migratory Birds Day. In consideration of the transition periods of migratory birds, the day was revised in 2018 to be the second Saturdays of May and October and on the occasion of the day all the nations are encouraged to join efforts in bird protection.

World Migratory Birds Day for this year falls on May 8 and October 9 on the theme “Birds connect our world”.

Experts say that apart from international cooperation and efforts, the protection and multiplication of migratory birds cannot be expected, for their seasonal and ecological features, and the number of their species and individuals cannot be maintained even though they are properly protected in any single region.

Therefore, they assert, all the countries and nations on the earth should join efforts for the protection of the migrants.

The DPRK pays special attention to protecting migratory birds.

As it is located at the centre of the EAAF, it takes a very important position in the protection of the migrants in the East Asian region.

According to Jang In Ae, researcher of the Central Committee of the Nature Conservation Union of Korea, over 420 species of birds have so far been observed and recorded in the country. Among them, summer birds account for 28.6%, winter visitants 27.6%, transients 17.1% and strays 9.4%, and therefore the migrants make up 82.6% of the total bird species. This shows that the DPRK is rich in the number of migratory bird species as compared to its area and their population reaches a considerable figure.

The country designated more than 10 migratory bird and wetland reserves according to Cabinet Decision No. 20 adopted on April 11 2003.

At present, it has more than 30 reserves on the east and west coasts and conducts the survey of migrants and protection activities on a scientific and regular basis.

A typical example of the migrants sanctuaries along the west coast is the Mundok Migratory Bird Sanctuary. More than 280 species have been observed and recorded and the maximum population reached over 80 000 in spring and autumn, of which 30-odd species are endangered and rare species.

It was listed as an internationally important Ramsar wetland site in January 2018 as it functions like a bridge in the EAAF.

The DPRK regularly conducts the survey of migrants along the east and west coasts to correctly ascertain the number of their species and individuals and take protection measures in an efficient way.

While promoting international exchanges and cooperation in the protection of migrants, it is now working to add to the Ramsar list the Sindo migrants sanctuary in North Phyongan Province and others that are of great international significance.