Participants
were first briefed on the ongoing international conservation
measures for the Lesser White-fronted Goose – such
as the work undertaken by the AEWA
Lesser White-fronted Goose International Working Group
– as well as on the status of the species in Bulgaria.
Bulgaria hosts small staging and wintering numbers of Lesser
White-fronted Geese from both Fennoscandian and Western
main populations and the species is listed as Critically
Endangered in the national Red List. One of the main conservation
challenges lies in determining where and when Lesser White-fronted
Geese occur in Bulgaria as they migrate amongst the large
numbers of other geese that winter in the country each year.
Correctly identifying small groups or individual Lesser
White-fronted Geese in flocks of several thousand Greater
White-fronted Geese, for example, can literally be compared
to searching for a needle in a haystack – particularly
during the hunting season when the geese are skittish and
not easily approached.

BSPB/BirdLife Bulgaria LIFE+ project coordinator
Mr. Dobromir Dobrev also gave participants an update on
the implementation of activities under the EU LIFE+ project
in Bulgaria. In addition to the establishment of a National
Working Group as well as the drafting of a National Action
Plan, current activities include the monitoring of Lesser
White-fronted Geese and the assessment of hunting pressure
at key sites in the country.

AEWA Technical Officer Mr. Sergey Dereliev
started the national action planning part of the workshop
by leading the group in a brainstorming session to identify
the threats to the species in Bulgaria. Participants identified
disturbance, increased risk of human-induced mortality due
to hunting and poisoning as well as habitat loss as the
main threats to the species. This was followed by identifying
objectives for the Action Plan. Next steps will include
drafting a workplan with prioritized activities to be implemented
in the short term as well as the actual drafting of the
National Action Plan.

The workshop as well as the participation
of the UNEP/AEWA Secretariat was funded by the EU LIFE+
project “Safeguarding the Lesser White-fronted Goose”
[LIFE10 NAT/GR/638].

For more information please contact Ms.
Nina Mikander, Coordinator for the AEWA Lesser
White-fronted Goose International Working Group or Mr.
Dobromir Dobrev, EU LIFE+ project coordinator,
BSPB/BirdLife Bulgaria.

Further Information:

• AEWA
Lesser White-fronted Goose International Working Group website




• Bulgarian
Society for the Protection of Birds website



•
LIFE+ project website hosted by WWF Finland