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 Hannover,
2 December 2011 - The Ministry of Natural
Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation
organized a one-day
workshop aiming at identifying international cooperation
mechanisms for the conservation of migratory waterbirds
and also for hunting regulations. The workshop was held
in the margins of the exhibition “Horse and Hunt” at
the Exhibition Centre in Hannover, Germany. The workshop
had a clear focus on the conservation of migratory waterbirds
in the Eurasian part of the Russian Federation. In this
context, participants reviewed the role of CMS and in particular
of AEWA and its potential for the Russian Federation. In
addition, the concrete terms under which the Russian Government
could ratify AEWA were discussed.
Participants included representatives
of the Russian government and relevant Russian institutions,
the Federation of Associations
for Hunting and Conservation of the European Union (FACE),
the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation
(CIC), BirdLife
International, European Institute for the
Management of Wild Birds and their Habitats (OMPO)
and the IUCN/WI
Goose Specialist Group. UNEP/AEWA and UNEP/CMS
Secretariats were represented by Mr. Bert Lenten (CMS Deputy
Executive
Secretary), Ms. Catherine Lehmann (UNEP/AEWA Programme
Officer) and Ms. Christiane Röttger (CMS Coordinator
for the Central Asian region).
In his opening speech, Mr. Anton Bersenev,
Director of Department of State Policy and Regulation
in Hunting Management
and Animal Resources at the Ministry of Natural Resources
and Environment of the Russian Federation, highlighted
the Ministry’s intention to establish international
cooperation mechanisms in the country for the management
of migratory waterbirds. With regard to a possible accession
of the Russian Federation to AEWA, he pointed out that
the Ministry was especially interested in the potential
of AEWA as a tool for game management, although the Russian
Government would have reservations on some of the specific
provisions of the AEWA Action Plan, notably those concerning
the use of lead shot for hunting in wetlands and spring
hunting.
The participants delivered 14 presentations
touching upon different key areas of waterbird conservation
and management
in Russia and Europe. This workshop served as a first opportunity
to make contact with experts from some key organizations
in Russia and at a global level, and to exchange recent
developments in various regions and fields of work. Mr.
Bersenev expressed the Ministry’s intention to host
a larger meeting in 2012 to bring together national and
international experts involved in the conservation and
management of migratory waterbirds and to explore further
cooperation at the international level. Hopefully, this
workshop will launch the process of the Russian Federation
towards accession to AEWA.
A set of recommendations summarizing the outcome of the workshop will shortly
be made available on the AEWA website.
The UNEP/AEWA Secretariat had organized
a two-day workshop to promote the accession of the Russian
Federation to AEWA in March 2010 and welcomes this latest
measure
which will further strengthen the cooperation with the Russian Government.
For more information:
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