130925-studie-wildlife-comeback-in-europe

Table 3.
Conservation actions
in place for Barnacle
goose [19] .
Action
Site/area
protection
Livelihood,
economic and
other incentives
Monitoring and
planning
Legislation
Drivers of recovery
The dramatic increases in the numbers of Barnacle
geese in all three populations since the 1950s are
considered to be the result of increased habitat
protection and reduced hunting pressure across
the species’ distribution [2, 13, 14, 16] .
The recovery and expansion of the Russian
Barnacle goose population since the late 1950s
is at least partly attributable to protection from
shooting [14] . Russian/Baltic Barnacle geese also
Description
There are 371 IBAs identified for the Barnacle goose in Europe, of
which 68% are designated as SPAs or other protected areas and 6%
are not protected.
Protected areas at major breeding sites, feeding and roosting sites.
However, site protection and enforcement in Russia is poor.
Compensation payments for farmers who suffer damage.
Payments for goose-friendly management in NW Scotland and the
Solway.
Flyway Management Plan has been drafted for the Svalbard
population.
Regular monitoring is in place for all populations, but Greenland
population is not as well studied [16] .
Protected by law in most countries, but seasonal or licensed hunting
is allowed in some.
Goose Management Scheme in NW Scotland and the Solway Firth.
Management Scheme also in place in parts of Norway.
benefitted from improved conditions in the
wintering areas, where agricultural intensification
has made good quality food available, particularly
in the Netherlands [14] . Reduced exploitation and
disturbance by people in the breeding grounds in
Russia, as a result of depopulation in the region,
has also been suggested as a possible factor [14] . Also
the establishment of breeding Barnacle geese in
the Baltic and the North Sea was in part thanks to
the high food availability in agricultural areas in
these regions, which provide good quality habitat
for brood rearing [17] .
Protection of feeding areas on the wintering
grounds enabled the increase in Svalbard Barnacle
geese after the 1950s, while enforcement of
the shooting ban also became more effective
during that time [13] . The Svalbard Barnacle goose
population is one of the best studied populations of
migratory geese in the world [13] and also has one of
the most comprehensive network of key protected
areas of any goose, swan or duck species [2] . There
is a need for further research on the more poorly
studied Greenland population [16] .
There is a need for international cooperation to
develop a sustainable conservation policy for the
species at the flyway level, to ensure the continued
effectiveness of management efforts.
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