Surveys confirm red-breasted Goose decline as WWT conservation efforts step up
The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) is stepping up its conservation efforts to save the Red-breasted Goose after recent surveys confirmed the population numbers just over 30,000 birds - a decline of over half in just 10 years.
The species is classified as Endangered on the World Conservation Union Red List and WWT, as part of the Red-breasted Goose International Working Group, is pleased to announce a series of developments aimed at reversing this worrying decline.
- WWT is funding a field station at Durankulak in Bulgaria (the key wintering site for Red-breasted Geese) which will provide a focal point for Red-breasted Goose conservation action locally, including accommodation for survey teams and researchers, advice to farmers to manage their land sympathetically for the geese, and an education centre for tourists and local schools. The land was purchased in June, design plans are underway and construction should be completed by summer 2009.
- WWT led an International Action Planning Workshop for Red-breasted Goose in Romania in February 2008. This identified major threats and knowledge gaps, and formulated key actions needed for their conservation, including
→ conserving habitat in breeding areas
→ identifying and ensuring designation of key feeding areas as protected sites
→ understanding the effects of climate change on the sites used by the geese
→ mitigating the effects of hunting and disturbance by aligning hunting seasons across flyway and by educating hunters
→ identifying crop rotation systems that are suitable for the geese
→ lobbying for introduction of agri-environmental measures targeted at Red-breasted Geese
- WWT is planning to track ten Red-breasted Geese using satellite transmitters in 2009, following a successful bid to the BBC Wildlife Fund. WWT scientists will travel to the breeding grounds on the Taimyr Peninsula next summer to catch the geese and fit transmitters. Following the birds' movements will help to identify any previously unknown sites, particularly in Russia, Kazakhstan and the Ukraine, and give us a better understanding of site and habitat use.
- WWT is also preparing a monitoring strategy for Red-breasted Geese across the flyway. This will ensure standardised methods for monitoring population size and trends, monitoring breeding success, and assessing threats. The strategy will be drafted in autumn 2008.
