The scientific journal AMBIO published a special issue on “Monitoring for and with Raptors of Europe” in September.

One of the main reasons given by the editors for publishing this issue are recent policy developments. These include the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, the European Union’s new chemicals legislation (REACH) and plans for a Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in Africa and Eurasia, under CMS. Following the first meeting, co-hosted by CMS in Loch Lomond, Scotland in October 2007, a second meeting on the conservation of birds of prey will be held in Abu Dhabi 20 to 22 October. Participants will meet in order to discuss the proposed MoU and action plan.

The growing interest in the conservation and monitoring of raptors has several reasons:. Raptors are important indicators of healthy ecosystems. They are at the end of the food chain, which makes them highly vulnerable to changes occurring in respect to environmental changes and increased competition for food. If raptors disappear from their habitat, this is a clear sign of a disrupted ecosystem.

One way to assess progress towards the achievement of the 2010 targets is close and coordinated monitoring. The information and knowledge gained will be vital to adapt current policies in order to make them more effective. AMBIO’s special issue calls for an international and European effort to monitor and protect raptors. The journal is meant to take stock of the current state-of-the-art of raptor monitoring in Europe in order to coordinate and expand monitoring of migratory raptors. AMBIO also calls for better coordination and cooperation of two raptor monitoring “camps”. Monitoring for raptors focuses on the conservation of raptor species themselves, while monitoring with raptors generally aims at using the information gained to measure indicators of environmental change or hazards through contamination. A coordinated attempt at exerting influence on policy makers could prove very effective.

Among the published papers are studies on Raptor Ecotoxicology in Spain and on PCBs in the Eggs of Eurasian Kestrels. AMBIO”s special issue of is not only highly interesting, it is also a great contribution to the information status on raptor monitoring in Europe.