BALKAN VULTURE ACTION PLAN (2012)

JOVAN ANDEVSKI

Annual Bearded Vulture Meeting,Brunnen/Schwyz – 10-11.11. 2012

! Funding:

Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS)

! Management and coordination:

Vulture Conservation Foundation (BVCF)

Balkan Vulture Action Plan

Vulture Conservation Foundation (VCF)

COOPERATION and COORDINATION

! Fact finding;

! Anti-poison campaign;

! Natural food availability;

! Supplementary feeding programme;

! Monitoring

! Restocking and reintroduction;

! Habitat conservation;

! Public awareness & participation;

! Socio-economic development;

! Project administration & fundraising.!

Balkan Vulture Action Plan

Balkan Vulture Action Plan (2002)

Countries: Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, Greece, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia, Greece, Ukraine (Crimea),

Romania and Turkey

THREATS

Illegal use of poison in the nature

THREATS

Shooting

THREATS

Habitat loss, Disturbance, Nest robbery

THREATS

Electrocution, Collision

THREATS

Food availability, Dangerous rubbish dumps

THREATS

Wind farms

CONSERVATION ACTIVITIES

Monitoring

Reproduction Feeding places

Ringing

CONSERVATION ACTIVITIES

Feeding sites

CONSERVATION ACTIVITIES

BALKAN ANTI POISON CAMPAIGN

Seminars for stakeholders

Formation

Production of info materials

Systematic collection and

analysis of dead animals

and bait

Hellenic Ornithological Society / Dadia, WWF

Large Raptor Conservation in Continental

Greece

Survey of the Egyptian Vulture Population Collecting Information on Threats

Griffon Vulture Monitoring and Conservation in

Western Greece Monitoring and Supplementary feeding of the

Griffon Vulture colony in •  Paramithias Mts.

•  Akarnanika Mts.

•  Kleisoura Mts. •  Nestos

BVAP - Greece

BVAP – Macedonia

FWFF – Macedonia - Aquila

Action plan for exploration and

conservation of the vultures in the

central, eastern and southern region

of the Republic of Macedonia

•  Supplementary feeding ( 3 feeding places) •  Monitoring of all Griffon vulture colonies

and monitoring of the four feeding places.

•  Advertisement and appearance in public

Macedonian Ecological Society

Vulture conservation in Macedonia trough implementation of antidote and educational activities

•  Improve the capacities of state bodies to prevent illegal use of poison in the nature

•  Increase awareness among specific target groups (veterinaries, hunters and livestock breeders) for the vulture conservation

•  Monitoring of the Egyptian Vultures

BVAP – Macedonia

Macedonian Ecological Society

One juv fitted with Satellite transmitter

Poisoning incident (3 ad EV died)

BVAP – Macedonia FYROM

Vultures Return in Bulgaria

110 km

260 km

100km40 km

130

km

65 km

LegendExisting colonies

Selected release points

Potential future

recolonization or release

points

160 k

m

200 k

m

270 km

130 k

m

REINTRODUCTION POINTS

Griffon Vulture Release Strategy

Following the successful “French” methodology:

!  Establishing four release sites;

!  Minimum of three months of on-site adaptation;

!  Coordinated simultaneous releases at all four sites;

!  Working mostly with non-juvenile wild-taken rehabilitated birds, limited amount of captive-bred and zoo animals;

!  Implementing a minimum of three simultaneous releases of

groups of birds at the four release sites in the Balkan Mountains

for the entire project duration (2010-2014) or regular ones as follows:

!  spring (April – May) 2010 - 2013;

! autumn (September – October) 2010 – 2013;

Vultures Return in Bulgaria

Releases: total of 105 Griffon vultures

"  Vrachanski Balkan site: !  8 (2010); !  5 (2011);

"  Central Balkan site: !  8 (2010);

!  5 same (2011);

"  Sinite kamani site: !  7 (2010); !  7 (2011);

"  Kotel site: !  7 (2010);

!  6 (2011);

Vulture transports

•  2011: •  2 griffon vultures from Amersfoort ZOO •  14/15 November: 1 black + 19 griffon vultures, Spain

•  2012: •  11 form Extremadura + 22 GREFA, Spain •  24 from France

Griffon Vulture Dispersal

RESTOCKING AND REINTRODUCTION

Bulgaria:

"  Vrachanska Planina (Griffon Vulture) BPPS

"  Central Balkan National Park (Griffon Vulture) BPPS

"  Eastern Balkan – Kotel area (Griffon Vulture) FWFF-Kotel

"  Sinite Kamani Nature Park (Griffon Vulture, Bearded Vulture) Green Balkans

"  Western Rhodopes (Bearded Vulture) Green Balkans

"  Zamen Gorge, South-West Bulgaria (Griffon Vulture) FWFF-Blagoevgrad

Macedonia:

"  South Macedonia (Black Vulture restocking) Ben Hallmann, FWFF-Macedonia, Chysaetos

"  Matka Gorge (Griffon Vulture restocking) MES

Romania:

"  Carpathian Mountains, Retezat National Park (Griffon Vulture) Milvus Group, Fundatia Carpati

Serbia:

"  Stara Planina Nature Park (Griffon Vulture, Black Vulture) INPS

•  78 PARTICIPANT •  8 COUNTRIES

•  25 ORGANIZATIONS •  ASSESMENT (2006-10)

•  PRIORITIES NEXT 4 YEARS

HIGHLITED THREATS •  PISONING

•  WIND-FARMS

TOPICS DUSCUSED

•  FUNDRAISING •  MONITORING SCEAM

WORKING GROUPS •  POISON

•  MARKING/RINGING •  EGYPTION VULTURE

•  FEEDING PLACES NET

"  Fundraising. All BVAP countries (depending of the activities).

"  Monitoring (common system, website/database, ringing, research questions). All BVAP

countries.

"  Illegal use of poison (BVAP anti-poison campaign, establishment of Balkan anti – poison

protocol). All BVAP countries.

"  Egyptian Vulture (working group, restocking strategy, causes of decline outside Balkans,). Macedonia and Albania (Greece and Bulgaria covered by the Life+)

"  Feeding network (sustainability of existing network, EU regulations). All BVAP countries.

"  Genetic issues (Griffon and Black). All BVAP countries.

"  Common reintroduction strategy. Bulgaria, Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia and

Herzegovina.

"  Improve involvement of rehabilitation center. Greece, Bulgaria & Serbia.

"  Improve capacity of NGOs. Albania, Macedonia, Serbia and Bosnia & Herzegovina

"  BVAP as tool for economic development. All BAP countries.

"  Communication, education and public awareness. All BVAP countries.

BVAP WORSHOP OUTCOMES

CRETE: 6 BREEDING PAIRS

BVAP MAP

FUTURE PLANS

•  BALKAN ANTI-POISON CAMPAIGN

•  EGYPTIAN VULTURE MEETING

•  MONITORING / MARKING SCHEME

•  BALKAN VULTURE REINTRODUCTION MEETING

•  BVAP MAP (DIGITALIZED DATA)

•  FUNDRAISING

Bearded vulture

EXTINCT: MACEDONIA

BULGARIA

SERBIA

ALBANIA

(CONTINENTAL GREECE)

CRETE: 6 BREEDING PAIRS

Black vulture

EXTINCT: MACEDONIA

BULGARIA

SERBIA

GREECE: 26 BREEDING PAIRS

Griffon vulture

EXTINCT: BOSNIA&HERZEGOVINA

ALBANIA

AROUND 500 BREEDING PAIRS

Egyptian vulture

EXTINCT: BOSNIA&HERZEGOVINA

SERBIA

CROATIA

60 BREEDING PAIR

Acknowledgments

Albania

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bulgaria

Macedonia

Greece

Croatia

Cyprus

Romania

Ukraine

Nase ptice National Museum of

Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Southern Blue Sky

Eco-Centre Caput Insulae - Beli

BirdLife Cyprus

Serbia

Birds of Prey Protection Fund

Birds of Prey Protection Foundation

"Griffon Vulture"

Institute for Nature

Conservation

of Serbia

Albanian Society for the Protection of

Birds and Mammals

•  Metodija Velevski •  Tome Lisichanec

•  Emanuel Lisichanec •  Sasha Marinkovic

•  Goran Susic •  Bratislav Grubac

•  Emilian Stoynov

•  Ivaylo Angelov •  Elena Kmetova

•  Ivelin Ivanov

•  Theodora Skartsi •  Rigas Tsiakiris

•  Lavrentis Sidoropulus •  Dushan Kotroshan

…and many others!

Thank you for your attention!