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 The
The Red-breasted Goose (Branta ruficollis) has been listed
on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals for long time
and it is not yet off the list - in the 2006 list edition
the species' status is "Vulnerable", which places it amongst
the globally threatened birds. In 1996 a Species Action
Plan for the Red-breasted Goose was agreed by the Parties
to the Bern Convention and by the EU member states. After
AEWA came into force in 1999 its Parties recognised, amongst
others, this Species Action Plan and decided on its implementation.
By year 2000 the global population of this
arctic-breeding bird was estimated at around 88,000 individuals
- the highest estimation ever. However, just five years
later the population is thought to count as much as 38,500
birds. The only population of this species undertakes a
remarkable migration annually from its breeding areas in
the tundra of Taymir peninsula in northern Russia through
Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine to reach the Black Sea coast
of Romania and Bulgaria, where it winters. From the breeding
areas through the winter quarters the Red-breasted Geese
face a number of threats ranging from disturbance and illegal
hunting to habitat degradation and climate change.
In order to strengthen the conservation
of the species, the AEWA Secretariat, in cooperation with
other organisations, such as RSPB,
VBN
and WWT,
is providing support to the International Red-breasted Goose
Working Group (IRBGWG). The IRBGWG is an informal expert
group of organizations working on the conservation of this
globally threatened species. The Group also acts as a coordination
mechanism for the implementation of the International Single
Species Action Plan for the conservation of the Red-breasted
Goose. Recent boost in the Group's work was the recruitment
of a full-time Coordinator. 
The AEWA Secretariat is pleased to introduce
Ms. Lavinia Raducescu as the new Coordinator for the International
Red-breasted Goose Working Group. Lavinia is of Romanian
nationality, graduated in Biology from the Ovidius University
in Constanca (Romania) and wrote her MSc thesis on bird
populations in Lake Mlastina Herghelieli in the Romanian
part of Dobrudja. She also has experience working for a
number of NGOs in Romania as a volunteer.
Lavinia will be based at the Headquarters
of the Romanian Ornithological Society (SOR, BirdLife in
Romania) in Bucharest. In her new position she will be facilitating
internal and external communications of the Group, coordinating
certain international activities, providing assistance to
the national organizations and securing financial means
for conservation work. One of her main tasks will be to
implement and translate a priority work plan into practice,
which was established during an action planning workshop
of the Group organized by SOR and RSPB in July 2005 in Tulcea
(Romania) in order to facilitate more effective and targeted
implementation of the Species Action Plan.
Lavinia is the first full-time Coordinator
for the Group. The new post is a result of the strong partnership
between AEWA,
RSPB, VBN
and WWT
which grew out of the Tulcea workshop. The former IRBGWG
Coordinator Sergey Dereliev, who now works for the AEWA
Secretariat, is still involved with the IRBGWG as its Chair.
On behalf of the partnership, the AEWA
Secretariat would like to welcome Lavinia and wish her every
success and enjoyment with the new job.
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