the Brandenburg ostrich - Landesamt für Umwelt, Gesundheit und ...

22ConservationDid you know...the Great Bustard hasan enormous distributionreaching fromSpain to Mongolia,but that they nowonly live in isolatedpopulations?A look beyond the horizonThe conservation of the Great Bustard in Germanyis part of an international effort to protectthis species. The basis is formed by European andeven international agreements – especially the ECBirds Directive that are aimed not only at the birdsthemselves but also their habitats. These parts ofthe Europe-wide network NATURA 2000 havebeen designated as Special Protection Areas (SPA).This network consisting of SPAs and “special areasof conservation” pursuant to the FFH Directive,aims to help maintain the plant and animal worldin Europe – very much in the sense of the BiodiversityConvention that is supposed to ensure adiversity of life on Earth beyond just the EU. GreatBustards are a part of this diversity.There is even an agreement that is dedicated solelyto the Great Bustards in Central Europe – theso-called “Memorandum of Understanding.” Thissub-agreement of the Bonn Convention for theConservation of Migratory Animals regulates theinternational efforts in research and protection ofthe Great Bustard. In this context there have beentwo conferences at which the twelve signatorycountries agreed to an international work programand critically inspected the status of theimplementation of the memorandum. The GreatBustard conservationists in Brandenburg workespecially closely with their colleagues in Spain,Austria, Hungary, Ukraine, and Russia. As a strictlyprotected species the Great Bustard also fallsunder the trade restrictions of CITES.According to the Red List of Threatened Birds ofthe World the Great Bustard is considered “vulnerable”– this corresponds to category 3 “endangered”in Germany. Red lists are points of orien-tationfor conservation strategies and political decisions.On the Red List of birds in Germanyand Brandenburg the Great Bustard is ranked incategory 1, “threatened by extinction.”The State of Brandenburg is aware of its responsibilityand has implemented all possible measuresto protect and conserve the Great Bustard,for it was one hundred years ago that the MarkBrandenburg was the area in which the greatestnumber of Great Bustards lived in Germany, by far.