Greenland white-fronted goose - update

The following are brief summaries of some of the action that we and our partners have done since the Species Action Framework was launched. They're in chronological order, with the most recent updates at the top of the page.

7 December 2009

Scottish Natural Heritage and the Greenland White-fronted Goose Study successfully organised an international workshop on Islay to discuss the conservation of the Greenland White-fronted Goose.  Held on the 24-26 February 2009, 50 experts from throughout the flyway, as well as international conservation organisations and, importantly, representatives of the local farming community were brought together to discuss the range of threats and pressures currently acting on the population.

The workshop agreed and prioritised necessary conservation actions which will be included in a proposed international action plan for the population.  The meeting reviewed the past 30 years of conservation actions for the geese, notably the progressive protection from hunting in the four Range States, the development of national networks of protected areas, and resolution of conflicts with agriculture, especially on the wintering areas.  However, new threats are emerging which are currently causing the population to decline rapidly. The workshop assessed these threats and made recommendations for necessary research and conservation actions throughout the flyway that could halt the decline.  Conclusions from the workshop can be viewed with this link 

The workshop programme included a session on managing wintering sites for Greenland White-fronted Geese and an evening slideshow that were both open to the public.  In addition, a number of the meeting participants visited four of Islay's primary schools to explain about the life of the geese when they are away from Islay, current threats and the need for an international workshop.  This educational component was an important part of the planning of the workshop and was well received locally. Each child was given a conference t-shirt which showed the inter national flyway and localities where a typical Islay White-front would be found each month of the year - laid out as a 'tour list'.

Following the consultation with participants of the workshop, the 'International Single Species Action Plan for the Conservation of the Greenland White-fronted Goose' has been updated and will be submitted to the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) Secretariat in early December 2009, for formal consultation with the AEWA Technical Committee and Range States.

See the most recent draft of the 'International Single Species Action Plan for the Conservation of the Greenland White-fronted Goose'  . 

 The Outputs from the workshop, most notably the Single Species Action Plan, have been used by Scotland to identify additional tasks to be carried out in Scotland and finalise the species implementation plan as part of the Species Action Framework.

Scottish Natural Heritage are currently working in partnership with the Greenland White-fronted Goose Study and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust to undertake the following priority actions identified in the International Single Species Action Plan for the Conservation of the Greenland White-fronted Goose: 

To finalise and publish the International Single Species Action Plan for the Conservation of the Greenland White-fronted Goose.

To undertake a ringing and re-sighting programme for the Greenland white-fronted goose in Scotland, to gather more information on goose movements and survival.

To assess the vulnerability of Greenland white-fronted goose flocks across Scotland and look at conservation actions that could be taken to protect the most vulnerable of these.

2008

The focus of attention for Greenland white-fronted geese has been two fold. To update and implement the Greenland white-fronted goose flyway management plan. The flyway management plan has been updated by the Greenland White-Fronted Goose Study Group and funded by Scottish Natural Heritage. It is planned that in late 2008 or early 2009 an international workshop will be held in Scotland to finalise the flyway plan and agree and prioritise conservation actions for the coming years. It is hoped that participants from Greenland, Iceland, Ireland and UK will attend with representation from government organisations, NGOs and researchers.

In 2007 a web-based site inventory for Greenland white-fronted geese   was created primarily provide a register of sites used by the species in Great Britain, their status and population trends. This web-site has yet to be finalised and funding from Scottish Natural Heritage is on-going to allow for the continued upgrading and maintenance of the site. In particular, it will provide ready access to a large amount of data and information collected on the population since the early 1980s.