ACTION PLAN FOR THE CONSERVATION OF THE
SLENDER-BILLED CURLEW Numenius tenuirostris (July 1994)

1. Enact, where it does not already exist, or wherever possible improve respectively, legislation to protect the Slender-billed Curlew and the wetlands that are critical to its survival and take such measures as may be necessary to enforce such legislation. The most urgent measure would be to completely ban the shooting, other taking and significant disturbance of this species.

2. Impose a ban on the hunting of similar-looking wader species, especially belonging to the genera Numenius and Limosa, in relevant countries also Limnodromus. Punish offences with severe penalties.

3. Initiate educational programmes for hunters in order to enable them to distinguish between different species of waders, and illustrate the importance of protecting the Slender-billed Curlew species which is threatened with extinction.

4. Close key sites which are regularly frequented by the Slender-billed Curlew (wintering sites, resting sites on its migratory route or breeding areas) to hunters during the appropriate phenological period. Establish adequate regulations for tourists and other visitors.

5. Intensify research on the Slender-billed Curlew, especially where there is a lack of data concerning its breeding sites, migratory routes or wintering sites; it is most important to gain more detailed knowledge about the causes for the decrease of the population.

Subject to availability of resources, the following actions shall be carried out by the individual Range States and organizations listed below subject to any amendments made at the time of signature of the Memorandum of Understanding, which shall be communicated to all of the Range States by the Secretariat of the Bonn Convention:

Albania

1. Develop and implement new nature protection legislation that meets the requirements of the Bern Convention.

2. Develop and implement new hunting controls which, inter alia, contain the following elements:

a. ecologically justified closed-hunting seasons, if necessary bag limits for waterbirds;

b. ban on hunting birds with the use of nets;

c. identification and establishment of non-hunting zones in wetlands where there is a high concentration of migratory waders;

d. control of waterbird hunting by foreign hunters, and imposition of rigorous penalties in case of offences;

e. obligatory examinations for Albanian hunters before they are granted a hunting licence which shall require, inter alia, detailed knowledge concerning the differentiation of waterbird species.

3. Conserve the remaining significant wetlands in the plains of the country.

4. Carry out ornithological investigations in order to identify the sites where the Slender-billed Curlew tends to rest.

Algeria

1. Ban the hunting of migratory birds with the use of nets and establish measures to implement the ban (e.g., monitoring, penalties).

2. Develop a network of protected wetlands in northern Algeria, inter alia, Chotts Constantinois, with a view to ensuring that key sites for waterbirds will not be damaged.

3. Carry out ornithological surveys of the waterbirds wintering in the wetlands of northeast Algeria where it is presumed that there are important resting and wintering sites of the Slender-billed Curlew.

Austria

1. Extend the existing network of protected wetlands.

2. Carry out ornithological surveys with a view to ascertaining whether the Slender-billed Curlew migrates regularly through Austria.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

It is not possible to develop an Action Plan before the situation in the country has normalized.

Bulgaria

1. Extend the existing network of protected wetlands, especially in the coastal areas on the Black Sea (Lake Atanasovo), along the Danube River and in the plains.

2. Limit hunting practices with respect to waterbirds, if necessary through the introduction of legal restrictions, in particular by banning hunting in wetlands where a high concentration of migratory waders has been detected; severely restrict activities of foreign hunters.

3. Provide more detailed surveys with regard to the migration of waders with a view to identifying the resting sites of the Slender-billed Curlew along the coasts of the Black Sea as well as of the migratory routes it takes when crossing the country.

Croatia

1. Emphasize, when setting up a new framework of nature protection legislation, the conservation of wetlands, including identification and establishment of protected areas; give special attention to the wetlands of Donji-Miholjac as well as the fishponds of Jelas Polje where the Slender-billed Curlew has been recorded.

2. Provide for an effective protection of endangered species, inter alia, of migratory species, including the Slender-billed Curlew and look-alike wader species, when introducing new legal regulations for species conservation.

3. Rigorously control the activities of foreign hunters.

4. Monitor migratory waterbirds in order to identify other important resting sites where the Slender-billed Curlew stops on its migratory route.

Cyprus

1. Protect the Slender-billed Curlew and look-alike wader species.

2. Protect wetlands that show a high concentration of migratory waterbirds.

3. Instruct hunters about the specific features of the species and the extent to which the Slender-billed Curlew is actually endangered and monitor whether the existing ban on hunting is being implemented.

4. Rigorously control the activities of foreign hunters.

EGYPT

1. Ban the hunting of migratory birds with the use of nets and take accompanying measures to facilitate the application of the existing ban on hunting protected bird species, including the Slender-billed Curlew; rigorously control the activities of foreign hunters.

2. Protect areas where the Slender-billed Curlew has been recorded and develop a network of protected wetlands, especially along the Nile river.

3. Carry out ornithological surveys of migratory waterbirds that rest in the Nile Delta and along the coast of the Red Sea in order to identify the most important resting and wintering sites.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

1. Propose amendments to Appendix II/2 of the EU directive on bird protection for eliminating the genera Numenius and Limosa in the column for Italy.

2. Ensure that the use of the EU Development Fund concerning farming and other commercial activities does not adversely affect those wetlands that are important to Numenius tenuirostris.

3. Continue the projects initiated by the Commission in favour of Numenius tenuirostris. Use the data gathered in the course of those projects to evaluate the network of Special Protection Areas. Promote the monitoring of the species in southern EU member states.

Georgia

Carry out studies to examine migration routes and potential resting sites of the Slender-billed Curlew and, if necessary, establish protected areas; institute adequate protection regulations and hunting restrictions.

Greece

1. Extend the network of protected wetlands, and if necessary, impose and endorse bans on hunting.

2. Give full confirmation of the site boundaries and improve the quality of protection of the following Ramsar sites: Evros delta, Porto Lagos and the Axios delta. Such sites should be controlled by full time wardens, especially in non-hunting zones, and consideration should be given to transforming them into national parks.

3. Monitor migratory waterbirds, with emphasis on Lake Tigaki and Kos Island, with a view to identifying further resting sites and migratory routes of the Slender-billed Curlew.

HUNGARY

1. Ensure that the current standard of protection is maintained in those areas that are acknowledged to be key sites of the Slender-billed Curlew (Hortobágy, Kardoskut) and extend the network of protected wetlands (cf. item 2).

2. Monitor the hunting situation with regard to large waders.

3. Monitor waterbirds, especially in those locations where fish ponds are situated, with a view to identifying further important resting sites.

Iran

Carry out studies to examine potential resting and wintering sites of the Slender-billed Curlew (inter alia, Caspian coast, Persian Gulf) in order to identify and establish protected areas; institute adequate protection regulations.

Iraq

Carry out studies to examine potential resting and wintering sites of the Slender-billed Curlew, especially the marshes of Mesopotamia, in order to identify and establish protected areas; institute adequate protection regulations and hunting restrictions.

ITALY

1. Impose stronger controls on hunting activities, with a view to impeding illegal shooting of protected species.

2. Extend existing or establish further protected areas for migratory waterbirds and if necessary impose bans on hunting:

* Designate Viareggio/Arno mouth wetlands as Ramsar sites, and re-define the borders of existing Ramsar sites falling into the other four Slender-billed Curlew key-sites: Golfo di Manfredonia, Comacchio-Ravenna coast, Maremma Toscana, Laghi Pontini.

* Establish buffer areas 300-500 metres wide (at least) around all five key-sites, to be strictly protected from hunting.

* Enforce the borders of the Gargano National Park as defined by the Decree of the Italian Minister of the Environment dated 4.12.1992.

* Facilitate the creation of uncultivated habitats such as grasslands and salt-scrub within the borders of protected areas, with particular reference to the key-sites.

3. Monitor the enforcement of the conservation measures identified by the recent Action Plans.

Kazakstan

1. Enforce adequate protection regulations and hunting bans and provide guidelines for hunters (inter alia, promotion of the Red Data Book of Endangered Species).

2. Identify, on the basis of Slender-billed Curlew records, and establish a network of protected wetlands (i.e. Lake Kushuryn, Lake Tengis and the flood plain of Nura, parts of the Turgaj Valley), and gradually extend this network on the basis of new available data of the species (cf. 1 and 3).

3. Establish a system of protected areas of international importance.

4. Carry out ornithological surveys in the east of the country area around Semipalatinsk, especially Ust-Kamenogorsk, in order to determine whether these are also breeding sites.

Malta

1. Protect the Slender-billed Curlew and look-alike wader species.

2. Protect wetlands that show a high concentration of migratory waterbirds.

3. Inform hunters about the specific features of the species and the extent to which the Slender-billed Curlew is actually endangered and monitor whether the ban on hunting is being fulfilled.

4. Rigorously control the activities of foreign hunters.

MOROCCO

1. To reinforce the protection of both Limosa species and all Numenius species.

2. Maintain and strengthen the level of protection afforded to the Merja Zerga Ramsar site which has been a wintering site for the Slender-billed Curlew in recent years, and ensure the application of the existing law forbidding hunting in Merja Mellah. Undertake wardening to minimise disturbance, including disturbance by birdwatchers.

3. Increase monitoring of wintering waterbirds in the coastal areas of the country with a view to identifying further wintering sites of Slender-billed Curlew and putting these under protection.

4. Examine agricultural practices in areas surrounding the Slender-billed Curlew's wintering sites in order to establish whether practices such as grazing levels and application of pesticides have any kind of negative influence on the populations. Rigorously control the activities of foreign hunters.

Oman

Carry out studies in potential resting and wintering sites of the Slender-billed Curlew in order to identify and establish protected areas; institute adequate protection regulations and hunting restrictions.

Romania

1. Protect all waders that could easily be confused with the Slender-billed Curlew.

2. Expand protection of the ecological character of the Danubian delta where only sustainable use is allowed, impose severe restrictions on hunting.

3. Rigorously control the activities of hunters, including foreign hunter-tourists.

4. Identify and establish a network of protected wetlands of international importance, especially along the Danube and the Black Sea coastal areas.

Russian Federation

1. Strictly control hunting restrictions, especially of big waders, and promote the Red Data Book of Endangered Species.

2. Rigorously control the activities of foreign hunters.

3. Carry out surveys and intensive research in order to find the breeding sites of the Slender-billed Curlew in south-western Siberia with a view to placing these under protection and

a. investigate the breeding biology of this bird species,

b. clarify the factors which are responsible for the decline of the breeding population and

c. enforce the necessary protection of breeding habitat.

4. Survey the species with a view to identifying the most important resting sites on the migratory routes and establish relevant protected areas (partly with a Ramsar status).

SPAIN

1. Reinforce controls on hunting activities with a view to impeding illegal shooting of protected species, especially all waders in southern Spain.

2. Widely conserve the ecological structures of the wetlands in Coto Donana and establish protected areas in wetlands that waterbirds frequently visit during their migration and for wintering which may be potential resting sites of the Slender-billed Curlew.

3. Increase monitoring of migratory waterbirds in southern Spain with a view to establishing further protected sites where the Slender-billed Curlew passes on its migratory route.

Tunisia

1. Ensure the application of the existing law forbidding the hunting of protected waders, including Slender-billed Curlew.

2. Maintain a coherent network of protected wetlands (inter alia as Ramsar sites).

3. Carry out an ecological study of the Kairouan wetlands with a view to elaborating conservation proposals.

4. Increase monitoring of wintering waterbirds in coastal regions and in wetlands in the eastern parts of the country with a view to identifying further important key sites of the Slender-billed Curlew.

5. Identify anthropogenic factors which may influence the decline of waders wintering in Tunisia.

Turkey

1. Regulate more stringently the hunting of waterbirds; rigorously control the activities of foreign hunters.

2. Establish a system of protected wetlands of international importance.

3. Monitor waterbirds that migrate and winter along the coasts and in the wetlands of central Turkey with a view to establishing protected areas in the most important resting sites of the Slender-billed Curlew.

Turkmenistan

1. Regulate more stringently the hunting of waterbirds; rigorously control the activities of foreign hunters.

2. Establish a system of protected wetlands of international importance.

3. Carry out ornithological monitoring in potential resting sites of the Slender-billed Curlew on the Caspian coast, especially the bay of Kara-Bogaz-Gol, with a view to identifying and establishing protected areas.

Ukraine

1. More rigorously control the hunting of waterbirds, including the activities of foreign hunters; impose a ban on hunting in protected wetlands.

2. Promote the Red Data Book of Endangered Species.

3. Continue to monitor migratory waterbirds with a view to establishing protected areas in the most important resting sites of the Slender-billed Curlew (Limans of the Azov Sea, Sivash Bay, Black Sea coastal areas, Danube Delta) and protect big waders that could easily be confused with the Slender-billed Curlew.

4. Investigate those anthropogenic factors which might have a straight effect on the decline of migratory populations of the Slender-billed Curlew, such as straight hunting or harassment, grazing, use of pesticides, human settlement in coastal areas.

5. Expand the network of protected wetlands, especially in the south of the country.

United Arab Emirates

Carry out surveys of potential resting and wintering sites of the Slender-billed Curlew and, if necessary, establish protected areas; institute adequate protection regulations and hunting restrictions.

Uzbekistan

Carry out studies to examine migration routes and potential resting sites of the Slender-billed Curlew in order to identify and establish protected areas; institute adequate protection regulations and hunting restrictions.

Yemen

Carry out studies to examine potential resting and wintering sites of the Slender-billed Curlew in order to identify and establish protected areas; establish adequate protection regulations and hunting restrictions.

Yugoslavia

1. Exercise stronger control over hunting activities, especially those of foreign hunters, with a view to impeding illegal shooting of protected waterbird species.

2. Extend the network and improve the conservation status of protected wetlands, especially in Voivodina.

UNEP/CMS Secretariat (Bonn Convention)

1. Make representations to the Range States concerned by the present Memorandum of Understanding with a view to obtaining the signatures and cooperation of those Range States which have not signed.

2. Facilitate the exchange of information among all of the Range States concerned.

3. Facilitate the future development of the Agreement on the Conservation of Migratory Waterbirds of the African-Eurasian Region which shall provide for the inclusion of conservation measures for the Slender-billed Curlew.

4. Encourage NGOs in their actions in favour of the Slender-billed Curlew.

BirdLife International

1. Continue updating the Slender-billed Curlew data base.

2. Stimulate the national BirdLife organisation of the individual Range State to carry out or promote conservation measures or surveys for the Slender-billed Curlew, as outlined in BirdLife International's action plan for the species.

C.I.C. (International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation)

1. Take efforts to educate hunters about threatened migratory species of waterbirds, including the present status and threats to the Slender-billed Curlew, and to

2. Support protection measures and surveys for the Slender-billed Curlew.