About IWSG
The International Wader Study Group (IWSG) brings together everyone who has a passion for waders (shorebirds), the habitats they use and their conservation. Members include research scientists, citizen scientists and conservation practitioners from all around the world. IWSG is an organisation which is committed to diversity and inclusivity. Everyone is welcome to become a member or to join us at our conferences, irrespective of their age, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, nationality and socio-economic status.
We study waders worldwide, with a range of projects from local ringing and counting studies to international cooperative work. Our research helps us understand more about the lives of shorebirds and the threats to them and we co-operate with conservation bodies to inform their work.
To disseminate information on waders, exchange ideas and facilitate co-operation, we hold an annual conference in a different country each year and publish a peer-reviewed journal, Wader Study and an occasional series International Wader Studies.
Our aims
The aims of the International Wader Study Group are to:
- promote, encourage and co-ordinate studies on waders or shorebirds;
- enhance the exchange of information and experience relating to waders and factors affecting them;
- help organise co-operative studies and projects;
- facilitate the exchange of information on waders and their biology.
Our objectives
The International Wader Study Group facilitates:
- contact between both amateurs and professionals studying waders;
- organisation of co-operative studies and projects;
- vehicles for exchange of information on waders and their biology.
We will achieve our aims by:
- holding an Annual Conference;
- publishing, three times per year, the journal Wader Study;
- publishing occasional volumes of International Wader Studies;
- providing in-depth treatment of individual shorebird issues;
- acting as the Wetlands International’s Wader Specialist Group.
Feature photo by Natalia Martinez Curci; Red Knots of mixed ages at Punta Rasa, Argentina, on 25 May 2013