Successful Meeting on Great Bustards

Szarvas/Bonn,
12 April 2013
- The 3rd Meeting of Signatories
to the MOU on the Conservation and Management of the Middle-European
Population of the Great Bustard (Otis tarda) concluded on
12 April, 2013 in Szarvas, Hungary. The two day MOU Meeting
was preceded by a Scientific Symposium and field trip to
see Great Bustards in breeding plumage undertaking their
mating displays within the Körös-Maros National
Park. Experts from Spain, the UK, the Russian Federation
and Mongolia joined the Middle-European Range States, to
share their knowledge and experience during the Symposium.

Great Bustards, the heaviest flying bird
of Europe, are typical species of continental grasslands,
but in many cases they prefer arable fields. As such they
are particularly at risk from intensification of agriculture
(especially at harvest time), predation and collision with
power lines.

The meeting adopted a new Action Plan for
the period 2012-2016, and revised the Medium-term International
Work Programme to elaborate how the plan will be implemented
in the coming years. Signatories adopted a series of guidelines
on reintroduction, population monitoring, mitigating impacts
of infrastructure as well as a joint research programme.
The Signatories noted synergies with CMS Resolution 10.11
on power lines and Resolution 10.26 on poisoning, as well
as with aspects of the Raptors MOU Action Plan.

In line with discussions from previous
meetings, the Signatories decided to amend the MOU to extend
the Agreement area to include additional known breeding
and wintering grounds in the Italy, Montenegro, Russian
Federation, and Serbia.

Germany, Austria and Hungary agreed to
divide responsibility between them for coordinating the
MOU until the next meeting which is scheduled for 2016 in
Germany.

Last updated on 16 June 2014