The Action Plan

The MoU includes an Action Plan which lists specific activities appropriate for each Range State including habitat protection, prevention of hunting and disturbance, cross-border conservation, monitoring, research and public awareness activities.

It calls for cooperation among national authorities to promote the conservation of the species. It demands the strict protection of the species and the maintenance and restoration of its habitat.

Activities

The MoU provides an intergovernmental framework for governments, scientists and other groups to monitor and coordinate ongoing conservation efforts. Activities under the MoU are described in the Secretariat's Overview Report typically provided at MoU Signatory meetings. Country level information is found in each country's national work programme and in the individual national reports submitted to the meeting.

Several grants from the European Union LIFE programme have helped fund Great Bustard protection efforts. Programmes are in place to protect breeding areas, provide feeding areas for wintering birds and minimize collisions between the birds and power lines. In several EU Member States, agri-environmental measures financed by the European Agricultural and Rural Development Fund play an important role in encouraging farmers to maintain or adopt appropriate farming techniques.

Additionally, with funding provided by the Austrian government, CMS has worked with BirdLife International to establish an MoU coordinator. Among other things, the coordinator offers technical advice to Range States, helps prepare meetings, and enables information sharing.