International Agreements

From 3 to 6 October 2017, governments, stakeholders and experts convened in Paris for the first planning workshop on the Greylag Goose International Single Species Management Plan (ISSMP). This plan is part of the Africa Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA), with the goal of applying a flyway approach to the management of an over-abundant (conflict-causing) goose species. The most important conclusion of the workshop was that sustainable hunting should be the main objective of the ISSMP. After a steep decline of...

05 October, 2017 /

From 18-22 July 2017, FACE attended the 29th meeting of the Animals Committee (AC) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora (CITES). This was the first meeting after the Conference of the Parties (CoP), which FACE attended in Johannesburg last year. This meeting sets the priorities for the coming cycle of meetings, culminating in CoP 18 in Sri Lanka. The AC gives scientific input in all the processes involving animal species. The meeting was attended...

09 September, 2017 /

The 18th International Wildlife Law Conference will be held in Tilburg, the Netherlands, on 18-19 April 2018. The conference is being organised by Tilburg University’s Department of European and International Public Law. An optional post-conference field trip, arranged with Staatsbosbeheer, will be held on April 20, 2018. The Conference will include papers on a range of legal and policy frameworks for achieving transboundary conservation, including the various global and regional wildlife treaties and the European Union’s Nature Directives. Papers are invited...

07 September, 2017 /

On 22 June 2017, FACE attended a two day meeting (22-23 June 2017) of the Task Force in Sliema, Malta, to make progress towards eradicating the Illegal Killing, Taking and Trade of Migratory Wild Birds (IKB). The meeting was chaired by the Maltese Government and attended by over 80 participants from 24 countries in Europe, 17 of which are EU member states, 29 observer organisations that included NGOs, enforcement groups and networks and scientific organisations. The meeting was part of the Convention...

07 September, 2017 /

FACE welcomes ONCFS’s guide to the ageing and sexing of common European ducks. First published in 2014, it is now available in English and can be downloaded. The guide covers the ten ducks most commonly observed, ringed and hunted in France (Red-crested Pochard, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard, Pintail, Shoveler, Garganey and Wigeon).The text is supplemented by tens of original photographs of wings and other specific plumage features for each species, with a concise text explaining which specific criteria...

11 July, 2017 /

From the 12-14 June, FACE attended a Stakeholder workshop hosted by Denmark for the development of an AEWA International Species Management Plan for the Barnacle Goose (East Greenland/Scotland & Ireland; Svalbard/South-west Scotland; and Russia/North-west Europe populations). The Barnacle goose has seen a remarkable increase of its population and is now creating many problems for agriculture, nature conservation and air safety. At the workshop, there was disagreement expressed by some on the legal framework for managing the Barnacle goose at the flyway level...

15 June, 2017 /

MPs misinformed on trophy hunting. Brussels, 1 March 2017 – A briefing paper titled ‘Trophy Hunting: UK and international policy’ by Alison Pratt and David Hirst, provides incorrect information to the Members of Parliament in the UK (MPs) and their staff on policy and sustainability aspects of trophy hunting. It is not true that EU Member States signed a Written Declaration in January 2016 calling for the examination of the possibility of restricting all import of trophies into the EU. What really...

01 March, 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 /

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 /

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 /

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 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 /

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 /

The 183 countries that are parties to the CITES convention have unanimously adopted an important resolution on trade in hunting trophies in which they recognise that “well-managed and sustainable trophy hunting is consistent with and contributes to species conservation, as it provides both livelihood opportunities for rural communities and incentives for habitat conservation, and generates benefits which can be invested for conservation purposes”. Initiated by the European Union and South Africa, the resolution can be seen as a welcome response to...

06 October, 2016 /

This manual, which is now available on the FAO website, provides both technical and operational guidance on approaches and practices adopted by countries where regulated or sport hunting is conducted. The aim is to join forces to sustainably manage wildlife, notably by deriving benefits from wildlife to support rural livelihoods, and contribute to food security and national/local economies The social and economic benefits derived from sustainable use, including revenues from trophy hunting, provides sustainable incentives for local people to conserve wildlife....

20 September, 2016 /

Should sustainable lion and elephant hunting be restricted or banned? Or should the world community better build on the success stories of legal hunting as a tool for wildlife conservation and poverty reduction? These and many other issues are up for discussion when the world’s largest wildlife trade summit is to be held from 24 September to 5 October in Johannesburg, South Africa. CITES, which stands for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, has...

06 September, 2016 /

FACE is delighted to announce the publication of the AEWA Guidelines on Sustainable Harvest of Migratory Waterbirds. This updated report provides detailed guidance on ways of ensuring and managing sustainable harvests of waterbirds in the AEWA region. This work was developed by leading experts, including FACE staff, from within the Waterbird Harvest Specialist Group of Wetlands International. Going forward, these Guidelines have the potential to support exciting new initiatives towards ensuring cross-border waterbird conservation and management. Read the report here....

03 August, 2016 /

At the meeting, Government representatives and a range of other stakeholders worked on developing a comprehensive programme of work for the Task Force until 2020. The MIKT adopts a zero tolerance approach to illegal killing, trapping and trade of migratory birds (IKB). For this to be successful, it requires the full and proactive support at national level of all stakeholders. FACE has a long-standing zero tolerance policy on wildlife crime including illegal killing, as it is simply not hunting. Dr. David...

18 July, 2016 /

The development of the revised Strategic Plan for the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) for the period 2019 – 2027 was formally launched at the meeting of the AEWA Strategic Plan Working Group in Bonn on the 28-30 June 2016. FACE was represented by Dr. David Scallan. The meeting brought together a wide range of AEWA stakeholders, including designated representatives from Contracting Parties, members of both the Standing and Technical Committees as well as a number of key AEWA partner organizations. Aside...

07 July, 2016 /

FACE is pleased to announce that an agreement was reached to establish a European Goose Management Platform under AEWA. The meeting, which took place in Paris on the 11-12 May 2016, was attended by the following AEWA range states: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greenland, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and UK. The meeting was hosted and organised by the French Ministry of the Environment, Energy and the Sea as well as OMPO and represents a major turning point in the way...

01 June, 2016 /
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