130925-studie-wildlife-comeback-in-europe

Figure 2.
Current distribution
of Cinereous vulture in
Europe and historical
distribution in the
1850s and 1950s [18] .
Table 4.
Conservation actions
in place for Cinereous
vulture.
countries/regions [14, 20] . The illegal use of poisons
is the most important threat to the species at
present, followed by mortality at windfarms, food
shortage and increasingly forest fires. Since 1990,
about 500 poisoned Cinereous vultures have been
found in Spain alone [20] . The poisoning of wolves
and other large carnivores in the Balkans has led
to the near extinction of the Cinereous vulture
population there.
Action Description Impact
Monitoring and National monitoring programs in Portugal, Spain, High
planning
France and Greece (Dadia).
Compliance and
enforcement of
legislation
Species
reintroduction
Species recovery
Site/area
management
Site/area
protection
Education and
awareness
Campaign against the illegal use of poison, mostly
in Spain, and to a lesser extent Portugal and
France.
Ongoing reintroduction programme in France
(Verdon and Baronnies, led by LPO) and Spain
(Catalonia, led by GREFA).
Provisioning of safe food through a network of
feeding stations (Portugal, Spain, France, Dadia).
Management of protected areas to protect the
foraging and nesting habitats required by this
species (e.g. Dadia).
The species breeding habitats are generally
protected from forestry operations through
restrictions and zoning for forestry operations
and management plans in protected areas (France
and Greece).
There are 90 IBAs identified for Cinereous vulture
in Europe, of which 24% are fully designated and
26% are not protected.
The main focus of public awareness raising
activities has been the poisoning threat.
Critical
Critical
Critical
High
High
High
High
Drivers of recovery
The significant increase in Cinereous vultures in
Spain (and also in Greece) has largely been due to
the conservation measures implemented in those
two countries. The progress of the implementation
of the Species Action Plan of the Cinereous vulture
in the last review was evaluated as good overall,
and very good in Greece, France and Spain [13] . The
most important conservation actions include
anti-poisoning campaigns, adequate management
of breeding sites, and provision of food through a
network of vulture feeding stations.
The ongoing reintroduction projects in France
and Catalonia have also been successful in driving
recolonisation and increases of Cinereous vulture
range and numbers. The project in the Grands
Causses (Cevennes), Southern France, has resulted
in the establishment of a small breeding population
(28 pairs in 2012 [15] ), with good prospects for further
increases. The ongoing reintroduction programs
elsewhere in France (Verdon and Baronnies)
and in Catalonia (6 breeding pairs in 2012 [21] ) are
beginning to give positive results.
The EU Birds Directive and the EU LIFE
programme have undoubtedly contributed to
the recovery and conservation of the species
in Europe, particularly in Spain. An effective
campaign against illegal poisoning, particularly in
Andalucia, also appears to have been crucial [13] .
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