The two-day Symposium of Great Bustard Experts from all over Europe and Part of Asia preceded the meeting on 14-15 September 2004. Over seventy experts and governmental officials attended. They provided important scientific inputs into the MoU meeting including information on the conservation status of the Great Bustard for all of Europe. The entire European population is estimated to be between 35,600 and 38,500 birds. (see: Population Chart in PDF)

Both meetings took place at the Information Centre of the Neusiedler See National Park. The Austrian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management and the Neusiedler See National Park hosted the meetings. The Symposium was co-organized by the Ministry and the National Park. The Ministry, National Park and CMS co-organised the MoU Meeting. The participants particularly enjoyed an excursion to visit habitats important for Great Bustard organised by the Ministry and the Hungarian Ministry of Environment. A number of Great Bustards and other birds were sited.

In addition to adopting the new MoU Medium Term International Work Programme that will help to coordinate international cooperative projects within the agreement area, the Meeting agreed on a national report format. It will be used by the Signatories for future meetings to gauge the MoU’s level of implementation. In addition, the Meeting agreed to expand the geographical scope of the MoU and laid the basis to invite Italy, the Russian Federation and Serbia and Montenegro to join the MoU in the future.

The next meeting of the Signatory States will take place in 2007.