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.