Vulture Conservation, Education, Rural Development, Land Stewardship, Voluntering Programme, EcoTourism, Breeding in Captivity, Vulture Reintroduction and European Anti-Poison Campaign The Black Vulture Conservation Foundation (BVCF) is an independent NGO based in Wassenaar, Netherlands, with a Spanish delegation in Mallorca (Fondo para la Conservación del Buitre Negro) , that it is the executive
branch of the Black Vulture Conservation Foundation (BVCF). The aim of the BVCF is to improve the status of the Black Vulture and the other three vulture species in Europe, as a contribution to the conservation of the biodiversity and sustainable development in the continent. In 2002, the BVCF created (together with Fundació Vida Silvestre de la Mediterrània and with the support of the Prins Bernhard Natuurfund) the Mediterranean Wildlife Conservation Centre in Son Pons state (onwards MWC Centre), donated for 30 years by the Fundación para la Conservación Internacional de las Aves (based in Madrid). The Centre has 20 hectares of oak and pine forest with agriculture areas, and a large building infrastructure (about 1.200 m2) that holds the BVCF headquarters, to concentrate all the management of the projects in Europe. The BVCF works toward its overall objective by advising, coordinating, raising capacity and seeking funding opportunities for all of its counterpart organisations, that are currently working with vultures in Europe, and also developing direct conservation initiatives and actions. This is a long list of NGOs and national governments of the countries of Europe that hold or have held vultures:
- in the EU27, the BVCF works in Spain, Portugal, France, Greece and Bulgaria;
- it also works in the Candidates Countries of FYR of Macedonia and Croatia and,
- also in Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia and Ukraine. The most important counterparts with whom the BVCF works in collaboration currently are:
==> Spain: SEPRONA de la Guardia Civil, Ministry of Environment, Fundación Biodiversidad, regional governments of the Balearic Islands, Extremadura, Cataluña, Castillo y León and Castilla-La Mancha, the Spanish Hunters Federation and also with some regional hunters association; and NGOs such as GREFA, SEO/BirdLife, GOB-Mallorca, Pastores sin Fronteras, EUFOR Spanish Contingent in Bosnia & Herzegovina, etc. and Laboratorio Forense de Vida Silvestre.
- Portugal: Quercus, CEPNA and ICN.
- France: LPO/BirdLife France, LPO/PACA and Vautours en Baronnies.
- Greece: Chrysaetos, Ben Hallman, WWF-Dadia, HOS/BirdLife.
- Bulgaria: Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds (BSPB/BirdLife), Birds of Prey Protection Society (BPPS), Green Balkans Federation, Alpine Klub Edelweiss, FWFF-Sofia, Semperviva, FWFF-Kotel and FWFF-Blagoevgrad, Ministry of Environment.
- FYR of Macedonia: FWFF-Macedonia, Macedonian Ecological Society (MES), BioEco and Ministry of Environment.
- Croatia: Eco Center Caput Insulae
- Albania: Natural Museum of Albania and Ministry of Environment.
- Bosnia & Herzegovina: Novi Val (Blagaj, Mostar), Mostar Municipality, Natural National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Sarajevo), Naše Ptice (Ornithological association of Sarajevo), The Southern Blue Sky (Srpska Republic).
- Serbia and Montenegro: Institute for Nature Conservation in Serbia
- EAZA (European Association fo Zoos and Aquariums)
- BirdLife International (European Division)
ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED
The issues to be addressed by the BVCF are:
- The threatened population of vultures
- The illegal use of poison in the natural environment
- The need to raise the action capacity of the BVCF to deal with new challenges
Below is a summarized background of each of these problems. Threatened population of vultures in Europe
There are four species of vultures living in Europe, all of them listed in the Annex I of the Birds Directive:
- Black vulture (Aegypius monachus), SPEC 1 (Rare) (Birds in Europe II, BirdLife International, 2004) with an International Action Plan of BirdLife International.
- Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) SPEC 3 (Endangered) (Birds in Europe II, BirdLife International, 2004).
- Griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus), Non-SPEC (Secure) (Birds in Europe II, BirdLife International, 2004).
- Bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus), SPEC 3 (Vulnerable) (Birds in Europe II, BirdLife International, 2004) with an International Action Plan of BirdLife International. Their distribution ranges have been severely restricted in the last two centuries and new threats, such as poison, are putting at risk the incipient recovery of some of the populations. The isolation of many of their breeding populations and its low productivity rates make very difficult to ensure their survival and even more the enlargement of their breeding ranges. These birds require large areas of good quality habitat, which is increasingly difficult in the humanized European continent. Although the protection of their main breeding and foraging sites in the Natura 2000 Network (Directive 79/409/CEE) and the promotion of sustainable development in the rural areas helps to ensures their survival, are still insufficient to reverse the negative trend of most of the populations and some community policies (CAP, forestry, transports, energy, etc.) The current threats posed, not only to the four vulture species, but also to other raptors that also feed on carcasses (such as the Red Kite, the Imperial Eagle) in Europe are mainly from:
- Poisoning and biocides pollution
- Decrease of the availability of food (abandonment of the extensive cattle raising activity, decrease of the rabbit populations, decrease of availability of carrions in the countryside due to the new regulations to control the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, closing of rubbish dumps).
- Electrocution from collision with electric power lines.
- Loss and degradation of the breeding, foraging and dispersion habitat (insufficient protection, infrastructures and urbanisation, disturbances by hunters, aeroplanes, military manoeuvres, forestry exploitation, sports and recreation activities, etc.).
- Robbing of nests, illegal hunting and inappropriate hunting management. In the last 20 years, a series of vulture conservation projects has been carried out successfully in south-western and central Europe, having contributed to the recovery of the populations of the four European vulture species in this part of the continent, mainly in Spain, Austria, Italy and France. The experiences of reintroduction and restocking carried out in Western Europe countries have strongly contributed to the recovery of some formerly extinct populations or close to become extinct. The most outstanding projects are the reintroduction of Griffon Vultures in Grand Causses in France (releases of vultures started in 1981, by LPO, and now there is an established colony of 110 breeding pairs); the reintroduction of Bearded Vultures in the Alps (starting in 1986, by FCBV, resulting in seven breeding pairs in 2003); the restocking of the nearly extinct Black Vulture population in Majorca (Spain; starting in 1984, by BVCF and the Balearic Government, the population increased from less than 20 birds to 110 in 2005 and from 0-1 breeding pairs to 10); and reintroduction of Black Vultures in Grand Causses in France (started in 1992, by LPO, resulted in 50 birds and 12 breeding pairs). Presently, one of the needs to ensure the long-term conservation of these Western vulture populations is to connect them with those in the Balkan area. For this purpose and in addition to those projects already finished, three more reintroduction projects are currently under development (two in the French pre-Alps –by LPO/PACA in Verdon and Vautours en Baronnies in Baronnies; and one in the Catalonian pre-Pyrenees, in Lleida, by the Fundació Territori i Paisatge; all of them with the assistance and coordination of the BVCF). The Black Vulture Conservation Foundation (BVCF) has been working since 1987 on various issues to protect the population of the Black vulture in Mallorca, which counted with the support of two LIFE projects, the Government of the Balearic Islands and the Frankfurt Zoological Society. The objective of the “Black Vulture Conservation Programme“, created by the Regional Government of the Balearic island and the BVCF is to ensure the long term viability of the population of Black vultures in Mallorca that suffer from an important human pressure. The BVCF is doing this by monitoring reproduction and searching for new possible nests, monitoring the reasons for vulture deaths, marking juveniles in the nest with numbered coloured rings, tracking individuals fitted with radio-tags, guarding the breeding sites to avoid disturbances by people, maintenance of feeding sites, environmental education at the Centre in Son Pons for school classes and adults groups and presentations at public events. In 2006 the BVCF also installed a camera at one nest to guard the site from a distance, and to avoid disturbance to the vultures. This is possible by transmitting the images to the information centre in the Serra de Tramuntana. The monitoring of birth and survival rates conducted yearly since 1983 is necessary to monitor the success of the conservation work. It shows that the population of black vultures in Mallorca has risen from 20 individuals in the year 1983 to approx 130 individuals in the year 2011. All these actions are annually financed by the Regional Government of the Balearic Islands and, since 2006, also count with the collaboration of volunteers from the European Voluntary Service of the European Union. In 2002, an “Action Plan for the Recovery and Conservation of Vultures on the Balkan Peninsula and Adjacent Countries” (in short, Balkan Vulture Action Plan, BVAP) was approved by the board of the BVCF as a joint effort between national and international NGOs. It is promoted by the Frankfurt Zoological Society, the Black Vulture Conservation Foundation International, the Fondo para la Conservación del Buitre Negro (BVCF) and the Foundation for the Conservation of the Bearded Vulture, with the support other international (LPO/FIR, BirdLife International, RSPB, IUCN-Europe) and national NGOs. The Plan aims the conservation of the four vultures but also uses them as flagship species for the conservation of the general environment in the Balkan area. The strategy is based on local and international cooperation, in which international organisations provide expertise and funding, while local counterparts, governmental and non-governmental, carry out the projects. Based on the Action Plan, Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) were agreed for Albania, FYR of Macedonia and Bulgaria, amongst all counterparts and with the support of their national governments. MoU with Croatia and Serbia are advanced and they will be probably signed in 2007. In 2005, a Balkan Working Group on the Egyptian Vulture was created within the framework of the BVAP with experts from the countries where this vulture species is still present (Albania, Serbia & Montenegro, Bulgaria, FYR of Macedonia and Greece), with the particular goal to stop its decline and work for the recovery of its populations. Poisoning is one of the main threats to vultures in all the Balkans area. Benefiting from the Spanish experience of the BVCF, also the Balkan Antidote Programme was established in 2003, that is being implemented step by step in the area (see next issue). Since 2002, about 60 projects have been implemented by about 20 counterparts, on vulture surveys, awareness campaigns, monitoring of breeding parameters, feeding stations, restoration of habitat, actions against poison, recovery of breeding populations, sustainable development, promotion of pastoralism, promotion of alternatives to the use of poison, etc. some of them being transboundary projects and all of them in close cooperation amongst all the local NGOs and the constant coordination of the BVCF staff.
