More than 20 experts from 8 countries worked intensely this week in Corte (Corsica) to establish the basis for the new international species action plan for the bearded vulture, which will be prepared by VCF, in collaboration with SEO/BirdLife, within a LIFE project (LIFE EUROSAP) coordinated by BirdLife International.
The LIFE Euro SAP involves 13 partners, and will develop new Species Action Plans (SAPs) or will review and update existing SAPs for a total of 16 species.
The Species Action Plans provide the status, ecology and threats of bird species and are used by the European Commission to undertake the key actions required to improve their conservation status in Europe. SAPS also conditions for effective coordination among the European Commission, EU Member States, the international conventions and non-governmental organisations involved in international bird conservation efforts.
This revision is more than urgent as several species benefiting from SAPs have seen their conservation status deteriorate lately, and/or have very old SAPs – the latter is the case of the bearded vulture, which is covered by a SAP from the end of the 90s, that does not include some of the more recent threats and populations dynamics, including the results from the several reintroduction projects that the VCF is coordinating.
During the workshop, organised and facilitated by the VCF, the experts discussed the
most recent information on the status and distribution of the species, discussed threats affecting the different subpopulations , and identified a basic list of related conservation actions that will be included.
The VCF is now going to discuss the outcomes of the workshop with a number of governmental and non-governmental stakeholders, and will produce a draft plan. Thank you to all the experts that have contributed their time and expertise – great to be working together for bearded vultures!
