Landscapes, cityscapes and seascapes:Safeguarding wetlands, habitat and urbanisation across the East Australasian flyway

Along with the world’s population growth, human activities, urban expansion and land-use change seriously impact natural ecosystems, causing water-and biodiversity-related challenges across lands, cities and seascapes. Proposals to effectively address these challenges include Australia’s water-sensitive urban design (WSUD) and China’s sponge city design (SCD). However, both strategies neglect how widespread loss and degradation of wetlands, as biodiversity hotspots providing essential ecosystem services, threaten many species interdependent with them. A forward-thinking design hybrid of WSUD and SCD could potentially contain and construct wetlands in urban areas to maintain and/or restore habitat for the Far Eastern curlew, which the International Union for Conservation of Nature lists as a large, endangered wading bird. A focus on this species could enlighten our understanding of planning and design synergies across lands, seas, boundaries, politics, space and time. Considering two end-points in this bird’s annual cycle – nesting sites in China and Western Australia – leads to a narrative of collaborative concern and design response. A literature review confirms the necessity of protecting vulnerable birds as a regional concern. Research-by-design demonstrates the feasibility of constructing wetlands and habitat, advancing design discourse of this restoration following the proliferation of WSUD and SCD.