Doug has 30 years of international experience in migratory waterbirds and wetland conservation. He has represented three Partners of EAAFP, firstly with his representation for Australasian Wader Study Group (AWSG) from 1993 to 1995. Doug then moved on wearing the hat of Wetlands International between 1995 and 2013. Most recently he worked with Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) secretariat as EAAF Coordinator for its Arctic Migratory Bird Initiative (AMBI) between 2018 and 2019.
In fact, Doug was one of the team working with the Australian Government towards the development of the EAAFP concept as a Type II initiative during the World Summit of Sustainable Development in 2002, which later officially established in 2006. During his time at the Wetlands International, Doug was involved in important projects for the conservation of wetlands and migratory waterbirds including developing the Asia-Pacific Migratory Waterbird Conservation Strategy and development of “Wetland Management Guidelines.” He demonstrated his technical expertise from publishing shorebird population estimates and the first listing of sites of international importance for migratory shorebirds across the EAAF in 2008.