This is a 4,5 Year project, supported by LIFE+ Nature Unit of the European Commission with an overall budget of € 2,656,608.
The partners implementing the Project are the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds/BirdLife Bulgaria, Kirilovi LTD, Hunting and Angling Association – Shabla, Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) and the RSPB/BirdLife UK.
The project target species is the Red-breasted Goose (Branta ruficollis), the most threatened goose species in the world. At present 80-90% of the wintering population is concentrated at four major roost sites in Bulgaria, selected also as project sites - Kaliakra, Shabla lake complex, Durankulak lake and Srebarna.
Censuses in the current decade have indicated a substantial and rapid decline since the 1990s, despite improved census coverage and co-ordination, from a peak of 88,000 in 2000 to around 40,000 in recent winters, and this has raised global concern.
Red-breasted Geese face a number of threats along their migration flyway, and in the project sites specifically. The threats faced by this species are among the most pertinent to waterbird conservation, including agricultural changes, hunting and development pressures.
The project will:
1. Strengthen the strategic planning framework to minimise the detrimental effect of economic development on Red-breasted Geese in the project area:
- Map the areas used by geese for roosting, flightlines and feeding, to provide an appropriate spatial framework for SPA Management Planning, and wider land-use planning
- Map the intensity, location and nature of collision risks to Red-breasted Geese in the region to provide locational guidance for onshore wind farms
- Revise the National Species Action Plan, advocate for appropriate management prescriptions to be incorporated into SPA management plans and ensure adequate legal protected status for all relevant IBAs under Natura 2000
- Establish mechanism to monitor and evaluate investment proposals in the context of project SPAs management prescriptions (A6).
- Create a map of key areas for Red-breasted Goose to guide development intentions and national and regional decision making
2. Engage stakeholders to reduce anthropogenic mortality and disturbance of Red-breasted Geese at the project sites:
- Reduce disturbance at sites by regulating access by fishermen, through information campaigns, creating bird identification guides and leaflets, and employing mobile patrols
- Open new fishing areas to reduce disturbance over key SPAs
- Reduce direct killing and disturbance of Red-breasted Goose at roosts sites (by poachers) by introducing new patrol schemes, techniques and systems
3. Engage stakeholders to develop sustainable land-management models for Red-breasted Goose conservation at the project sites:
- Model and identify preferred feeding habitats of the geese, and intensity of use of different crops, to develop a set of solutions to minimise the conflict between Red-breasted Goose and agriculture
- Develop and test solutions for Red-breasted Goose friendly agriculture and transfer them into the post-2013 CAP financial instruments
- Engage with the farming community to increase awareness of goose-friendly agriculture and encourage uptake of appropriate agri-environment measures
4. Enhance community pride in and support for the conservation of Red-breasted Geese, and the Natura 2000 sites that they depend on.
- Develop and implement Project Communication Strategy & Action Plans
- Engage with local communities surrounding the Project sites, through schools and regional events
- Promote the objectives and results of the project to local and regional communities, regional and national decision makers, international NGOs and the wider public, through the project website, national and international media coverage
- Disseminate project results and findings to the wider conservation community through national and international events
We expect that the project activities will result in the stabilisation of the Red-breasted Goose, the most threatened goose species in the world, in its wintering grounds in Bulgarian Dobrudzha. In the longer term, moreover, the habitat improvements and other beneficial changes brought about through the project will make an important contribution to efforts to increase the population of the target species. A particularly important outcome of the project will be the creation of a land management scheme favouring Red-breasted Goose. Securing safer foraging areas for this species is a key prerequisite for its overall success, and given that the entire global population frequently winters in Bulgaria, this project should contribute to increased survival at the population-level. The public-private partnership that will be established within the project between conservation NGOs and one of the largest land-management companies in coastal Dobrudzha will be maintained beyond the scope of the project and will thus secure optimal foraging habitats for the Red-breasted Goose in the long-term. This will make an excellent model for subsequent partnerships elsewhere in the country and will be an important catalyst for future conservation projects.
Staff positions currently being recruited for the project office in Shabla:
1. Project Manager (PM)
2. Technical Assistant (TA)
3. Conservation Officer (CO)
4. Education and Communications Officer (EC)
All complete application forms must be submitted by email to bspb_hq@bspb.org
with an accompanying personal motivational letter by 20th of September, 5 pm. Selected candidates will be contacted by email on the 24th of September. The interviews will be held in Varna after October 1st and not later then 3rd of October 2010.
Thank you for your interest in BSPB and our work to conserve birds and nature in Bulgaria. Please join us.
http://bspb.org/show/1649-33