Brussels,
9 November 2010 - The Finnish LIFE Nature project to
protect the Lesser White-fronted Goose (Anser erythropus)
is one of 23 Best LIFE Nature Projects being featured in
a new European Commission publication highlighting the 2009
awards.

The selection of the top LIFE-Nature projects
now showcased in the publication were originally presented
at a conference on the future of the LIFE programme in Brussels
in May 2010. The projects represent the most successful
of the completed LIFE Nature projects in 2009, both in terms
of best practices and/or demonstration actions on nature
conservation and the implementation of the Habitats and
Birds Directives.

The Lesser White-fronted Goose LIFE project
was implemented by WWF Finland and focused on the conservation
of the Lesser White-fronted Goose population along the European
migration route. The ultimate objective of the project was
to stop the decline of the Fennoscandian population, of
which hunting and poaching is the main cause. The Lesser
White-fronted Goose closely resembles the White-fronted
Goose (Anser albifrons), which is an important
game species in most countries in its range, making awareness
raising and education of hunters an important element of
the project.

The
LIFE project also played a key role in the drafting of the
International Single Species Action Plan (SSAP) for the
conservation of the Western Palearctic population of the
Lesser White-fronted Goose, which was adopted by AEWA in
2008. In addition, National Action Plans for the Lesser
White-fronted Goose were drawn up within the framework of
the project and adopted by the national authorities in Norway,
Finland and Estonia.

Building on the success of this LIFE project,
a new LIFE+ project application for the Lesser White-fronted
Goose has been submitted to the European Commission in September
2010. The lead organization behind the new project is the
Hellenistic Ornithological Society (HOS), the BirdLife partner
organization in Greece.

Drafted by HOS in cooperation with most
of the previous LIFE project partners and the UNEP/AEWA
Secretariat, the new proposal builds on the previous project,
with a focus on conservation activities in the wintering
sites of the species in Europe.

The new LIFE+ proposal also includes a
number of coordination tasks for the UNEP/AEWA Secretariat,
including providing assistance to countries such as Greece
and Bulgaria in their efforts to draft National Action Plans
for the species as well as functioning as a facilitator
to ensure close cooperation and linkages between conservation
efforts along the European and Eastern flyways of the Fennoscandian
Lesser White-fronted Goose population.

For more information please see:

• Best
  LIFE-Nature Projects 2009 (PDF Publication,
  6 MB - see
  page 12 for the article on the LWfG project)
• LWfG
  LIFE Project Publications (WWF Finland)





• 
  
  
  International Single Species Action Plan for the Conservation
  of the Lesser White-fronted Goose