 Bonn,
20 May 2008 - The AEWA Secretariat convened a new Committee
to guide captive breeding and release into the wild of the
globally threatened Lesser White-fronted Goose ( Anser
erythropus) in Fennoscandia. Delegations of the four countries Norway,
Finland, Sweden and Germany, and their scientific and conservation
experts came together on 7-8 May 2008 to establish the ‘Committee
for Captive Breeding, Reintroduction and Supplementation
of Lesser White-fronted Geese in Fennoscandia’ [short:
‘LWfG Recap Committee’]. The Committee’s
purpose is to guide the future of the small Fennoscandian
population of this globally threatened species.
It has been long declared that saving the
remaining circa 25 breeding pairs of wild Lesser White-fronted
Geese in Fennoscandia is common sense and that, consequently,
this population should be at the heart of all related conservation
efforts. However, opinions still widely diverge on the questions
(i) whether the wild population should be supplemented by
releasing specimen bred in captivity; and (ii) if, and under
which preconditions, should captive-bred birds be introduced
on new flyways.
The Fennoscandian countries had jointly
called for the inception of this Committee as a strong instrument
to guide future releases of captive-bred birds in Fennoscandia
and Europe, and to advise on LWfG conservation more broadly.
“The results of the first meeting provide us with
strong signals and food for thought on our way forward”
says one of the delegations after the meeting.
The terms of reference and procedures for
the Committee were finalised by AEWA based on input received
from participating government officials and their invited
experts. “The future success of this Committee
will now depend on the readiness of the participating states
to cooperate on the issue” says Bert Lenten,
AEWA Executive Secretary and Chair of the Committee. “Practical
guidance on captive breeding techniques is an important
precautionary measure but we also need to keep thinking
in the bigger schemes of flyway conservation for the Lesser
White-front.”
Overall guidance will be provided by the
International Single Species Action Plan for the Conservation
of the Lesser White-fronted Goose. The draft Plan has been
revised under the auspices of AEWA and is currently being
considered by the 22 Principal Range States to the species.
The plan covers conservation measures for the Fennoscandian
and for the Western main populations. It will be submitted
for adoption by the 4th Meeting of the Parties to AEWA in
mid September.
In his closing remark, Mr. Lenten says:
“This was already a good starting point, I am
confident that further steps towards strengthened cooperation
on captive breeding and reintroduction issues can be made.”
For its next meeting in November the Committee will focus
its attention on an independent scientific review of the
status of genetic LWfG knowledge amongst other tasks agreed
at the meeting. “There is a need to meet more
regularly in the future and I hope that countries will use
this opportunity to come closer together for joint conservation
action” he concludes.
Additional Information
• Recap
Committee Terms of Reference
• Recap
Committee Rules of Procedure
• AEWA Contact: Kirsten
Martin
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