The recruitment process is finally concluded and we are happy to welcome Sergey Dereliev as the new Technical Officer for AEWA. Sergey graduated from the University of Sofia (Bulgaria) with an MSc in Biology with specialization in Zoology of Vertebrates and Anthropology. He also is an alumnus of the 6th International Course on Wetland Management of WATC/RIZA (the Netherlands).

Most of his professional career so far has been mainly within the NGO sector. He was involved in conservation work already as a volunteer since 1988, and has started in 1994 as Local Officer for the BSPB/BirdLife Bulgaria in its Varna Regional Office. In the following years Sergey was responsible for project management within BSPB/BirdLife Bulgaria and the Bulgarian-Swiss Biodiversity Conservation Programme. Before moving to the CMS/AEWA he was working as Conservation Director for the BSPB/BirdLife Bulgaria.

Meanwhile at international level he was serving on short-term basis as a mentor for the 8th International Course on Wetland Management of WATC/RIZA (the Netherlands) and from 2001 to 2003 as Regional Assistant for Europe at the Ramsar Convention Secretariat (Switzerland). Sergey's main fields of expertise are waterbird survey, monitoring and conservation, wetland management planning and implementation, reedbed management. He has special interest in geese, particularly the Red-breasted Goose, as well as in migration and winter census of soaring and water birds.

He was a chairman of the International Red-breasted Goose Task Force, as well as member of the IUCN/Wetlands International Goose Specialist Group, the IUCN/Wetlands International/WWT Threatened Waterfowl Specialist Group and the Goose, Swan and Duck Study Group of Northern Eurasia. Sergey is fluent in English and Russian, while his mother tongue is Bulgarian.

The AEWA Secretariat is glad to be able to use his competences and experience for enhancing AEWA's work. Sergey will be responsible for the facilitation of the work of the Technical Committee as well as the development of programs and related projects. Further he will take care of promoting interest in the Agreement in a geographic region among Parties and non-Parties, and more generally NGOs, and gather information relevant to the information of the Agreement. As a Technical Officer he will be able to provide scientific and technical inputs into the elaboration of AEWA projects, particularly in relation to Management Plans and Action Plans.

The Secretariat is looking forward to having him on board to complement the team and further promote the successful implementation of the Agreement.