The Fifth Meeting of Signatory States to the CMS Siberian Crane Memorandum of Understanding concluded successfully on 29 April 2004 with the adoption of revised Conservation Plans for the Western, Central and Eastern populations of this endangered species.

Representatives of ten of the eleven Range States, together with specialists from numerous scientific institutes and non-governmental organizations, attended the meeting in Moscow, which was hosted by the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and organized by the International Crane Foundation on behalf of CMS.

The Meeting agreed on the establishment of a network of sites critical for Siberian Cranes of the Western and Central Flyways, which will promote training, capacity-building, exchange programmes, education and public awareness, site monitoring, and information exchange. The specifications of the network will be worked out over the next 6 to 8 months. The site network will be coordinated with related initiatives including the Central Asian Flyway project, the North East Asia Crane Site Network, the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement GEF Project, and the GEF Econet project.

It was recognized that the recovery of both the Western and Central populations, which have collapsed over the past two decades, depends on reducing high hunting pressure. The meeting identified strategies for more effective enforcement of hunting regulations and techniques for educating hunters. Efforts in these flyways will also focus on innovative reintroduction methods. Taking a cue from successful efforts by Operation Migration and other partners to reintroduce Whooping cranes in North America, by training young birds to follow ultralight aircraft, researchers in Russia plan to adapt the methodology for use with hang-gliders in coming years.

The meeting heard some positive news from Western and Central Asia. A captive-reared Siberian Crane was successfully released for the first time on the wintering grounds in Iran. Satellite telemetry followed the bird’s migration to Dagestan where the signal stopped. Important new migration sites have been recently identified in both of these countries. At the meeting, colleagues from Afghanistan, Iran and Turkmenistan agreed to develop a joint survey to identify potential alternate wintering sites along their border areas.

Participants gave enthusiastic accounts of a variety of creative programmes to increase awareness and involve local communities. Highly successful and inspiring Crane Day celebrations were held in several countries in 2002-2003, and will now be conducted in all the Range States.

The remaining Eastern population in China is far more numerous at an estimated 3,000 birds, although recent mid-winter counts at Poyang Lake suggest that the population may number as many as 4,000 birds. Under the UNEP-GEF Siberian Crane wetland project, protection has expanded to 15 county protection stations around the greater Poyang Lake Basin. A team of hydrologists plans to tackle water management issues at migration resting areas in northeast China including the Zhalong and Xiangha National Nature Reserves.

During the meeting of Signatory States, the representative of Mongolia signed the Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of his Government, and two nongovernmental organisations – the Cracid and Crane Breeding and Conservation Centre (CBCC) and Wetlands International (Netherlands) – were invited to join the MoU as cooperating partners.

The CMS Secretariat will circulate the report of the present meeting to interested parties after it has been finalised by the International Crane Foundation in the coming months. Tentative plans were made to review progress again in mid-2006, with Kazakhstan and Pakistan suggested as possible meeting venues.

Note: The Siberian Crane Memorandum of Understanding provided the impetus for the development of a multi-country UNEP-GEF wetland and waterbird conservation project valued at nearly USD 23 million, which is now being implemented in China, Iran and Russia, with Kazakstan to participate shortly.

Source: Douglas Hykle, Senior CMS Advisor; Claire Mirande, International Crane Foundation