Conservation of the Red-breasted Goose along the Global Flyway

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

BACKGROUND

The red-breasted goose (Branta ruficollis) is one of the most threatened goose species in the world. It is listed in Annex I of the Birds Directive and is on the Ornis Committee list of birds that are a priority for LIFE Nature funding. The species is also listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, is in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and Appendix I and II of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS). Wetlands are the primary habitat for this goose species, but are also identified among the most vulnerable ecosystems to climate change. Extreme flooding and drought are the drivers that can change the quality and extent of the habitat, and therefore can cause severe negative changes to populations of threatened and vulnerable species.

OBJECTIVES

The objective of LIFE FOR SAFE FLIGHT was to make a major contribution to the conservation of the red-breasted goose within the EU, and within its global migration flyway.

Specific project aims were to:

• Improve knowledge on the importance of specific threats to the migration ecology and current distribution of the red-breasted goose;
• Implement a set of conservation measures to reduce direct and indirect mortality from hunting and disturbance in Bulgarian project sites and along the global flyway;
• Engage stakeholders to develop management practices for red-breasted goose conservation at key sites to enhance conditions for the species;
• Ensure engagement of communities and stakeholders to enhance community pride in and support for the conservation of red-breasted goose, and the Natura 2000 network generally;
• Assess the effects of the implementation of the international species action plan on the species’ status, by developing a comprehensive monitoring system in all range countries along the flyway.
  

The actions implemented by the project served as mitigation measures to partly compensate the threats and problems arising from increased incidents of drought in Central Asia and other parts of the migratory flyway of the species. The project was a major contribution to the implementation of the AEWA/EC international species action plan (SAP) for the red-breasted goose.

RESULTS

The project has a direct benefit on an Annex I species, the Red-breasted Goose, but the adaptation and mitigation measures to reduce hunting pressure and/or ban spring hunting have a lasting impact on number of threatened and decreasing species as well – i.e. the Lesser White-fronted goose using partly the same migration route, number of game species of geese – Greater white-fronted goose, Greylag goose, other waterfowl species. There are indications that the work of the project has contributed to the halt of the decline of the target species and its population might be stable or slightly increasing. This conclusion is based on the tentative results of the monitoring work on population status of the species.

The project directly benefited six SPAs in Romania where management prescriptions for the Red-breasted Goose have been drafted and included in the adopted National Species Action Plan. Furthermore, seven SPAs in Bulgaria benefit from the improvement in the conservation status through intensified patrol or improved control over hunting activities resulting in less disturbance for the wintering species. The project implementation benefited the migratory geese staging in the Kulykol-Taldykol lake system in Kazakhstan with the assignment of 35% of the crop fields, beside the roosting wetlands for a game resting and feeding area forbidden for hunting by the local hunting estates. Similar management restrictions introduced in the Koybagor Lake in Kazakhstan led to restoration of its importance as staging area for the Red-breasted geese and other migratory geese thanks to the ban on the use of boats on the lake and improved water management.

The ban on spring hunting will contribute significantly to the improvement populations and increase for number of migratory other waterfowl species too. The lack of spring mortality will allow a better and more successful breeding season and more surplus that could be harvested in the following autumn.

 

The project also has:

1. Banned spring hunting in the area around Manych-Gudilo lake in Russian Federation;
2. Managed to implement and set an ongoing satellite tracking programme for the species, the most detailed in terms of data provided and number of tagged birds to date, which provide continuous data for monitoring and conservation of the species;
3. Pioneered the implementation in practice of guidance technical documents of the African Eurasian Water Bird Agreement (part of UNEP) by delivering specialised trainings and developing a training kit for future implementation of workshops on Sustainable Migratory Waterbirds Harvesting;
4. Developed and ensured adoption of a flyway monitoring protocol to guide the long-term monitoring of the species along the flyway.