Author: FACE

The Federation of Associations for Hunting and Conservation of the EU is pleased to announce that Mr. Ludwig Willnegger has started his employment as new Secretary General of FACE. Mr. Willnegger holds a degree in agricultural sciences and law and has both Belgian and German citizenship. He obtained his hunting license in Bavaria at the age of 16 and grew up on a farm in a family with longstanding hunting traditions. He initially worked for two years for the European farmers’...

20 February, 2017 /

The conference, organized by MEP Karl-Heinz Florenz, President of the Hunting Intergroup and MEP Renata Briano, Vice-President, in cooperation with FACE, will take place on 7th March 2017 at the European Parliament in Brussels. On the 7 December 2016, the European Commissioner for Environment, Karmenu Vella, confirmed the next steps of the Fitness Check of the Birds and Habitats Directives: the European Commission will develop an implementation Action Plan to improve implementation of the Birds and Habitats Directives. This Action Plan...

15 February, 2017 /

FACE attended the 12th Meeting of the AEWA Standing Committee from 31 January to 1 February, hosted by the French Ministry of Environment, Energy and Sea at its premises in La Défense, Paris. This was the first full intersessional meeting of the Committee since MOP6 in 2015; the Committee will next meet in 2018. The busy agenda included reviews of the implementation of the Recommendations of the Standing Committee Report to MOP6 on the Progress of implementation of the AEWA Strategic...

02 February, 2017 /

Every January, many people from all over Europe go out in cold weather to count waterbirds for the International Waterbird Census (IWC), the monitoring scheme, which provides clarity on waterbird populations and their trends. In Italy, there is good cooperation in place in many areas between professional ornithologists, bird watchers and hunters to ensure good coverage of wetlands, particularly the biggest ones, such as Venice Lagoon and Po delta. Under the umbrella of ISPRA, The Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research,...

02 February, 2017 /

The Holsteiner Lebensraum Project aims to restore the ecological connectivity of the Kreis Segeberg Region (North Germany). Species and habitats became fragmented mainly due to the building of two highways. One of the main objectives was to develop the Holsteiner Lebensraum Korridore in conjunction with a range of partners, including the Kreis Segeberg eV hunters. Several actions are set up at different scales and for different habitats, including: The construction of a green bridge over the highway to reconnect the forest. Deer and...

27 January, 2017 /

FACE supports the appeal to gather donations for the emergency monitoring of waterbirds in Southeastern Europe launched by Wetlands International. Wetlands International manages the Waterbird Fund - established after the invitation of the UNEP African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands - and set up to strengthen the monitoring and conservation of waterbirds in the context of the 51st International Waterbird Census. Monitoring – long-term, repeated data collection – is the foundation for managing and understanding wetlands and...

20 January, 2017 /

Strasbourg, 17 January 2017 – The European Parliament Intergroup “Biodiversity, Hunting, Countryside” hosted the debate “How to Manage Overabundant Species: The Example of Goose Management” at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The debate had as its main focus how so called “adaptive harvest management” may have advantages over traditional approaches in the conservation and management of Europe’s goose populations. It was organised by the Federation of Associations for Hunting & Conservation of the EU (FACE), chaired by MEP Karl-Heinz Florenz,...

17 January, 2017 /

On 17th January 2017, the European Parliament Intergroup “Biodiversity, Hunting, Countryside” will host a debate entitled: “How to Manage Overabundant Species: The Example of Goose Management” at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The meeting will discuss how adaptive harvest management can inform the conservation and management of Europe’s goose populations, in particular, for abundant and increasing populations of geese. The concept of adaptive harvest management in Europe emerged recently from the AEWA Guidelines on Sustainable Harvest of Migratory Waterbirds and work...

13 January, 2017 /

The European Union (EU) Regulation on Invasive Alien Species (IAS), which established the first EU list of IAS, came into force in July 2016. The list currently comprises 37 species (23 animals and 14 plants) considered to have potential adverse impacts across the EU. CONSEQUENCES OF THE LIST This Regulation sets out the restrictions and measures that will now apply to the species on the Union list on keeping, importing, selling, breeding and growing. Among the 23 animal species on the list, four...

11 January, 2017 /

The Diana Club of the Polish Hunting Association (Polski Związek Łowiecki) was created in March 2014 in order to improve the image of hunting in Poland, exchange hunting experiences and elaborate on educational activities from different perspectives. It has 141 members and represents almost 3% out of the total number of active women hunters in Poland (there are currently 3244 women hunters in this country). The members of the Diana Club participate in shooting competitions and hunting dog trials, but they...

21 December, 2016 /

FACE publishes a yearly report presenting the results of the Biodiversity Manifesto process while demonstrating European hunter’s contribution to nature conservation. Since 2013, FACE has been gathering evidence to evaluate progress under the Biodiversity Manifesto. In 2015, FACE published its first BDM report, which presented how 181 conservation projects involving hunters linked to the targets of the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020. The report demonstrated that 23 of the 34 BDM actions directly contributed to the EU’s Strategy. 2016 was dominated by...

21 December, 2016 /

The position of the UNEP/CMS/FAO Co-Convened Scientific Task Force on Avian Influenza and Wild Birds has been published. Hunters as watchdogs for the health of wildlife: 7.000.000 hunters in Europe play a key role in monitoring the health status of our wildlife, in particular, for reporting potential cases of avian flu. As avian flu is spreading across Europe, hunters should remain alert and scale-up surveillance. Report any suspected cases (of sick or dead birds) to national authorities. Birds infected may die suddenly or...

20 December, 2016 /

FACE attended the 1st Meeting of the AEWA European Goose Management Platform in Kristianstad, Sweden from 13-16 December 2016. This process marks the beginning of a more coordinated and science-based approach towards the conservation and sustainable use of goose populations within Europe. The proposed structure of the European Goose Management Platform (EGMP) will require an AEWA-led coordination unit, a data centre and participation by multiple countries and representative organisations, including FACE. This management structure will ensure an internationally coordinated decision-making process. The...

16 December, 2016 /

This wetland restoration project takes place on a hunter’s 30 ha landholding in Flanders (Belgium). The site forms part of a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) under Natura 2000 and the objective is it to restore an Annex I habitat; an alluvial forest with Alder (Alnus glutinosa) and Ash (Fraxinus excelsior). Between 2012 and 2013, with the financial support of Agentschap voor Natuur en Bos (Agency for Nature and Forest) and Natura 2000 subsidies combined with hunters’ assistance in the field,...

14 December, 2016 /

On the 7 December 2016, EU Commissioners confirmed the next steps of the Fitness Check of the Birds and Habitats Directives. Thus far, the extensive consultation process has pointed to the need for better implementation, increased funding for nature conservation, and fully addressing the drivers of biodiversity loss in the wider countryside. On the basis of today’s debate, the European Commission will develop an implementation Action Plan to improve implementation of the Birds and Habitats Directives. This Action Plan will likely contain...

07 December, 2016 /

FACE is sharing the stories of women hunters to learn more about their motivations, challenges and views. We thank the women hunters who have already shared their experiences with us through our questionnaire. Here’s a snapshot of Maja Čanjevac from Croatia. Maja Čanjevac Vlak, from Šolta Island in Croatia, started fishing with her parents when she was 35. One year later, she passed the hunting exam and since then, she hasn’t stopped: She hunts every week during the hunting season (from...

07 December, 2016 /

FACE is sharing the stories of women hunters to learn more about their motivations, challenges and views. We thank the women hunters who have already shared their experiences with us through our questionnaire. Here’s a snapshot of Ivana Jambreković and Kristina Tarnaj from Croatia. Ivana Jambreković is 31 years old from Bjelovar, Croatia. She started hunting when she was 24, although, she admits a love for hunting from an early age, passed down through generations in her family. Ivana hunts every...

02 December, 2016 /

FACE is putting a special focus on women hunters to learn more about their motivations, challenges and views. Here’s a snapshot from Kairit Kiin from Estonia. Kairit Kiin is an Estonian sales agent. In her leisure time, she loves to hunt with her family, mostly with her children, her brother, Kaido and her friend, Nele. In fact, it was her brother who introduced her to hunting. Since her first hunting trip, when she was 38 years old, she hasn’t stopped. She...

25 November, 2016 /

Since 1995, the Hellenic Hunters Confederation has been conducting the program “ARTEMIS I” “ARTEMIS I” aims to: Monitor the status, population trends and population structure of game species in Greece Acquire the necessary knowledge to achieve objective and rational management of game species Evaluate all the management measures which have been applied during previous years Confront the lack of scientific data on behalf of the state concerning hunting activity and game species population status Disprove subjective data on the state of game populations and hunting...

24 November, 2016 /

Between 15-18th of November 2016, FACE attended the 36th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention in Strasbourg. This year, the focus of the meeting was on the outcomes of the 2016 meetings and activities, in particular, the issue of bird conservation, the fight against invasive alien species, the relationship between biodiversity and climate change, and the management of protected areas. Regarding the North American Mink, the Bern Convention now recommends that Contracting Parties: “Carry out national campaigns aimed to...

23 November, 2016 /

FACE is putting a special focus on women hunters to learn more about their motivations, challenges and views. Here’s a snapshot from Sanja Momčilović Bognič from Serbia. Sanja Momčilović Bognič is an architect from Bečej, Serbia. For 26 years, she has been an active and passionate hunter. She started hunting when she was 28 and today she is the President of the Ladies Hunting Club of Becej, which was established in October 2012. She is also a member of the Serbian...

18 November, 2016 /

FACE is currently attending the 36th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention, which runs from the 15th to the 18th November 2016. The Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (or Bern Convention) is the first international agreement dedicated to nature conservation, covering most of Europe and some African countries (50 states in total). Government representatives and organisations meet once a year at the Standing Committee meeting in Strasbourg to talk about environment concerns and...

17 November, 2016 /

FACE is putting a special focus on women hunters to learn more about their motivations, challenges and views. Here’s a snapshot from Yaiza Herrero from Spain. Yaiza Herrero was born 28 years ago in Valladolid, a region famous for greyhounds. That’s how she developed a true passion for these animals: she does everything with them including hunting, playing and living with them. This young woman hunter is committed to her faithful companions. Her hunting passion is a family thing: “I usually go...

11 November, 2016 /

The EU 2020 Biodiversity Strategy requires in its Target 2 that ‘by 2020, ecosystems and their services are maintained and enhanced by establishing green infrastructure and restoring at least 15% of degraded ecosystems’. To assist in developing this target, FACE participated in an EU technical workshop on Green Infrastructure and Restoration in Brussels the 24th and 25th of October. In 2013, the EU adopted a Green Infrastructure (GI) Strategy, which seeks to set up a physical and functional transboundary network of...

31 October, 2016 /

When the world’s largest wildlife trade summit concluded on 4 October 2016 in Johannesburg, South Africa, hunters could rejoice over a number of victories. FACE is pleased to see that its recommendations have been followed for practically all of our key issues as outlined in our Conservation Guide. This confirms that conservation through sustainable use and the important role of hunters are still at the core of CITES. During two weeks, the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP17)...

28 October, 2016 /
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