Review of Waterbird Re-Establishment in the Aewa Area
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Doc: LWfG Recap 2.5 Doc: AEWA/MOP 4.11 AGREEMENT ON THE CONSERVATION OF Agenda item: 11.d. AFRICAN-EURASIAN MIGRATORY WATERBIRDS Original: English Date: 15 August 2008 4th SESSION OF THE MEETING OF THE PARTIES 15 – 19 September 2008, Antananarivo, Madagascar “Flyway Conservation at Work – Review of the Past, Vision for the Future" REVIEW OF WATERBIRD RE-ESTABLISHMENT IN THE AEWA AREA Introduction According to Paragraph 7.4 of the AEWA Action Plan the Agreement Secretariat, in coordination with the Technical Committee and the Parties, shall prepare a series of international reviews necessary for the implementation of the Action Plan, including, inter alia, a Review of waterbird re-establishment in the Agreement area. After a call for tenders the compilation of this review was commissioned to the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust. Information from Range States on the implementation of re-establishments was collected through questionnaires. This review was approved by the Technical Committee at its 8th meeting in March 2008 and endorsed by the Standing Committee at its 5th meeting June 2008 for submission to MOP4. Conclusions and recommendation from the review served as a basis for draft Resolution 4.4. Action requested from the Meeting of the Parties The Meeting of the Parties is invited to note the Review of waterbird re-establishments in the AEWA area and take its conclusions and recommendations into account in the decision making process. Doc: LWfG Recap 2.5 AEWA Re-establishment Review Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust Review of Waterbird Re-establishment in the AEWA Region Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust Slimbridge Gloucestershire, UK GL2 7BT Final draft – April 2008 Doc: LWfG Recap 2.5 Authors: Rebecca Lee & Baz Hughes Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, Slimbridge, Gloucestershire, GL2 7BT United Kingdom Email: [email protected] or [email protected] Acknowledgements The production of this review would not have been possible without the contributions of a number of ornithological experts and representatives from national governmental agencies. We are grateful to Andy Evans (RSPB; Corn Crake, UK), Jasmina Muzinic (HAZU; Dalmatian Pelican, Croatia), James Lazell (TCA; Caribbean Flamingos, BVI), Wouter Faveyts (Agentschap voor Natuur en Bos), Alessandro Andreotti (INFS; Purple Swamphen, Italy), Jeanne Marie Pittman (Johannesburg Zoo; Wattled Crane, South Africa), Bálint Bajomi (White-headed Duck, Hungary), Antti Haapanen (Lesser White- fronted Goose, Finland), Barbara Amadesi (INFS; White-headed Duck, Italy), Koen Devos (Greylag Goose, Belgium), Wim Van Den Bossche (Natuurpunt; White Stork, Belgium), Nicola Baccetti (INFS), Pritpal Soorae (IUCN/SSC RSG), Chris Bowden (RSPB/IAGNBI), Annemieke Enters (White Stork, the Netherlands) & Wim van Nee (White Stork, the Netherlands). In addition, we are grateful for the guidance and comments of Ruth Cromie (WWT), Mark Trinder (WWT), Colette Hall (WWT), Sergey Dereliev (AEWA), Bálint Bajomi, Michael Smart, David Stroud (JNCC) and Andrea Pauly (BMU). Acronyms AEWA African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement BMU Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation & Nuclear Safety, Germany BVI British Virgin Islands CMS Convention on Migratory Species EU European Union HAZU Institute of Ornithology at the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts IAGNBI International Advisory Group on the Northern Bald Ibis IAP International Action Plan ICONA National Institute for Nature Conservation in Spain's Ministry of Agriculture INFS Istituto Nazionale per la Fauna Selvatica ISSAP International Single Species Action Plan IUCN International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (World Conservation Union) JNCC Joint Nature Conservation Committee RSG Re-introduction Specialist Group RSPB Royal Society for the Protection of Birds SSC Species Survival Commission TCA The Conservation Agency UKBAP United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan UNCED United Nations Conference on Environment and Development UNEP United Nations Environment Programme WCMC World Conservation Monitoring Centre WWT Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust Definitions Re-introduction: an attempt to establish a species in an area which was once part of its historical range, but from which it has been extirpated or become extinct. Re-establishment: a successful re-introduction. Re-establishment project: a synonym for re-introduction; a project that attempts to successfully establish a species in an area which was once part of its historical range, but from which it has been extirpated or become extinct. 1 Doc: LWfG Recap 2.5 AEWA Re-establishment Review Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust CONTENTS Acknowledgements.................................................................................................. 1 Acronyms ............................................................................................................. 1 Definitions ............................................................................................................ 1 Executive summary ................................................................................................. 3 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 5 2 Species for which re-establishment projects are needed ................................................. 7 3 Waterbird conservation initiatives requiring re-establishment .......................................... 23 4 Meta-database for re-establishment projects ............................................................. 31 5 Assessment of waterbird re-establishment projects against IUCN guidelines ....................... 34 6 Progress in implementing re-establishment projects .................................................... 44 7 Improving the effectiveness of re-establishment as a conservation measure........................ 48 8 Recommendations and improvements needed........................................................... 51 9 Conclusions.................................................................................................... 54 References ......................................................................................................... 59 Appendix 1. Conservation initiatives reviewed ................................................................ 63 Appendix 2. Completed re-establishment questionnaires ................................................... 65 Appendix 3. IUCN Guidelines for Re-introductions ........................................................... 95 2 Doc: LWfG Recap 2.5 AEWA Re-establishment Review Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Re-establishment has received increased attention as a conservation tool over the last two decades resulting in an increase in re-establishment projects worldwide (World Conservation Union and Species Survival Commission Re-introduction Specialist Group (IUCN/SSC RSG) 1995). As re-establishments are sometimes recommendations of action plans and other conservation initiatives it is vital that their occurrence, progress and outcomes are recorded (1) to inform future re-establishment projects for related species and populations, and (2) to allow the implementation of action plans and other conservation initiatives to be monitored. This report reviews waterbird species re-establishment projects, as per item 7.4 (f) of the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) Action Plan. Seven major objectives were addressed: identifying the species and populations for which re-establishment has been recommended as a conservation measure; identifying the waterbird conservation initiatives with provisions on re-establishment; creating a meta-database containing all relevant data on re-establishments of waterbirds in the AEWA region; assessing existing re-establishment projects against IUCN guidelines; assessing the status of and progress in the implementation of re-establishments by Range States and other stakeholders; and producing recommendations for the future use of re-establishment as a conservation tool. The review found that re-establishment has been recommended as a conservation measure for six waterbird species in international and national actions plans published since 1995: Lesser White-fronted Goose Anser erythropus, Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca, Crested Coot Fulica cristata, White-headed Duck Oxyura leucocephala, Maccoa Duck Oxyura maccoa, and Corn Crake Crex crex. Each of these species except for the Maccoa Duck has been the subject of one or more re-establishment project within the AEWA region. Most projects have failed to result in self-sustaining populations, though varying levels of success have been reported for projects to re-introduce the White- headed Duck in Spain, Ferruginous Duck in Italy, Lesser White-fronted Goose in Sweden, and Corn Crake in the United Kingdom. Of the 59 conservation initiatives reviewed, 15 had provisions on re-establishment. These initiatives included national and international action plans, international conventions and agreements, and conservation assessment and management plans. The re-establishment recommendations ranged from calling for re-introductions in previously occupied areas according to IUCN guidelines, to calling for particular numbers of birds to be released in particular areas. A potentially web-accessible meta-database was constructed and populated with data relevant to re-establishments of waterbirds in the AEWA region, incorporating information on species/population, Range States, conservation initiatives, re-establishment projects, references,