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traditional knowledge with science, particularly with respect to
Red List assessments. SULi members are part of the
Convention on Migratory Species’ Saker Falcon Task Force,
and were contracted to provide analysis on current Saker
Falcon populations, trends in trapping, and advice on how the
Task Force can best engage with trappers to improve
monitoring of populations and sustainability of harvest and
trade. At the request of the Bern Convention, under the
Council of Europe, SULi developed a draft Charter on Fungigathering
and Biodiversity which was adopted in December
2013.
SULi is playing a leading role in development of learning
products on sustainable use in protected areas for the World
Parks Congress (in collaboration with WCPA). At the World
Parks Congress, SULi will lead a workshop session in stream
4 on sustainable use and food security, and a workshop
session in stream 6 on governance. SULi has linked with IUCN
CEM Fisheries Expert Group (FEG) and the International
Collective in Support of Fishworkers to work with FAO on small
scale fisheries, focused on implementation of their forthcoming
Small Scale Fisheries Guidelines. An initial Panel Discussion
was held at the MARE Conference in Amsterdam in May 2013.
SULi provided input into many IUCN and other policy
processes, including CITES CoP 16 and relevant positions of
the European Union. In November 2013, SULi was consulted
and assisted in organizing the agenda for the United for Wildlife
Symposium on Illegal Wildlife Trafficking. SULi has also been
asked to lead a global study on seal management in 2014.
Mike Murphree
Chair, Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group
Swan Specialist Group
The mission of the Swan SG is to facilitate communication
between swan researchers and conservationists world-wide, in
order to improve links for cooperative research, identify gaps in
knowledge and provide a forum for addressing swan
conservation issues, especially at an international level. The
Swan SG currently consists of over 400 members from 38
countries. Our website (currently in review) can be accessed
here.
International Swan Symposia have been held at
approximately 10-year intervals since the first meeting was
convened at Slimbridge, UK, in December 1971. Early in 2013,
the Trumpeter Swan Society (TTSS) kindly offered to host the
5th International Swan Symposium in conjunction with the
Bewick’s Swans in flight. © Paul Marshall
23rd Conference of the TTSS. A total of 50 oral presentations
and 10 posters reviewed by the Scientific Committee were
accepted for the symposium, which was held at Easton,
Maryland, USA from 3–6 February 2014. Four workshops were
also included in the schedule, on: (i) avian interactions with
electric power lines, (ii) implantation of the AEWA Bewick’s
Swan Species Action Plan, (iii) future organisation/
management of the Swan Specialist Group, and (iv) estimating
population viability by applying stochastic growth models to
annual counts of swan populations.
Most swan populations are considered to be of low
conservation concern, but the Northwest European Bewick’s
Swan population is in rapid decline. To address this issue, a
Bewick’s Swan Species Action Plan was developed, which
was adopted by AEWA in May 2012. Data from the January
2010 Bewick’s Swan census were collated during 2013; results
indicated a further decline to c. 18,000 individuals, 16% fewer
than the 21,500 recorded in January 2005. Range states are
taking forward priority actions identified within the Action Plan,
including the development of a National Bewick’s Swan Action
Plan for Estonia, a key staging area for the population in both
autumn and spring. Updated population estimates were
published for the Icelandic Whooper Swan population and for
Western and Eastern Tundra Swan populations.
Eileen Rees
Chair, Swan Specialist Group
Tapir Specialist Group
The Tapir Specialist Group (TSG) is a global group of
biologists, zoo professionals, researchers and advocates
dedicated to conserving tapirs and their habitat through
strategic action-planning in countries where tapirs live. By
sharing information and educational outreach, we show the
importance of the tapir to local ecosystems and to the world at
large.
The major goal of the TSG is to conserve biological
diversity by stimulating, developing, and executing practical
programs to study, save, restore and manage the four species
of tapir and their remaining habitats in Central and South
America and Southeast Asia. The TSG strives to achieve this
goal through the implementation of the following strategies;
frequent review, status determination, and publicizing of tapirs
and their needs, promoting and supporting tapir research and
conservation, promoting the implementation of strategic
action plans by appropriate organizations and governments,
Tapir. © Patrícia Medici
86 IUCN species Annual Report 2013