 Last
week BirdLife International reported the illegal shooting
of a Lesser White-fronted Goose inside a protected area
at lake Kerkini in Greece. The AEWA Secretariat regrets
this incident which, according to BirdLife International
and the EU LIFE project ‘Conservation of the Lesser
White-fronted Goose on the European migration route’,
represents a loss of 5% of all male birds breeding in Fennoscandia.
The AEWA Secretariat will help address the continued decline
of this highly threatened population of Lesser White-fronted
Geese through the establishment of a new international advisory
body. This Committee will be meeting for the first time
next month in Bonn, Germany. The Fennoscandian population of the Lesser-White-fronted
Goose (LWfG, Anser erythropus) is on the verge
of extinction with no more than 20-30 breeding pairs left.
It is known to breed in northern Norway and to winter mainly
in Greece and its adjacent countries. Hunting incidents
such as the one reported by BirdLife showcase that continued
practical conservation action is urgently needed to avoid
the complete disappearance of this population. This incident
also highlights the general need for effective policy provisions
and enforcement of existing law by all Range States - strengthened
through transboundary collaboration.
 One
of the tasks for achieving enhanced international cooperation
for the protection of the Lesser White-fronted Goose is
the establishment of a Committee for Captive Breeding, Reintroduction
and Supplementation of the species in Fennoscandia. This
Committee will consist government representatives and experts
from Norway, Finland, Sweden and Germany who provide technical
advice and joint recommendations to guide activities for
a sustainable and viable breeding population in Fennoscandia.
The focus of these Range States to the wild breeding population
of Lesser White-fronted Geese will be to recommend actions
for breeding in captivity and release into the wild of the
species.
The AEWA Secretariat will convene the Committee
for the first time on 7-8 May 2008 in Bonn, Germany. As
a thematic sub-group to the Lesser White-fronted Goose International
Working Group, the Committee meeting will set the stage
for a concerted effort by all Range States of the species
to update the International Action Plan for the LWfG and
move towards the practical implementation of conservation
measures such as the enforcement mechanisms against illegal
hunting and effective monitoring.
For more information on the meeting and AEWA’s
coordination work for the LWfG please contact: Kirsten
Martin, kmartin@unep.de.
The EU LIFE project is a concerted effort lead by WWF Finland
and sponsored by the European Commission to conserve the
species on its European migration route in Norway, Finland,
Estonia, Hungary and Greece. For more information on the
project please visit:
http://www.wwf.fi/english/finland/lesser_white_fronted
Birdlife International is a global Partnership
of conservation organisations that strives to conserve birds,
their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people
towards sustainability in the use of natural resources.
For BirdLife International’s announcement
on the Lesser White-fronted Goose please visit:
http://www.birdlife.org/news/news/2008/04/LwfGooseshot.html
|
