International actions agreed to save threatened goose

Action to aid the survival of the Greenland White-fronted Goose has been agreed following an international summit on Islay this week.

Over fifty experts from the countries that are home to the declining goose population gathered to identify causes affecting its welfare, and to propose new measures across all states to improve its prospects.

Since peak numbers of 35,600 recorded in 1999, numbers have tumbled by nearly a third to the most recent count in spring 2008 which estimated the Greenland White-front population at 23,200.

Led by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), in partnership with the Greenland White-fronted Goose Study, the three day conference and workshop has now produced a long term commitment from the various agencies and conservation bodies involved. SNH Director of Policy and Advice Professor Colin Galbraith said: “The last few days of workshops, field visits, discussions and presentations have confirmed the serious plight of the global population of Greenland White-fronted geese.

“The discussions have highlighted the key importance of managing the wintering grounds for the species in Scotland, and the significance of changes happening in the nesting areas in Greenland due to climate and possible competition with other species.

“The good news from Islay is that we have been able to combine all this international knowledge, which was reviewed at the workshop, to produce a draft framework agreement and a positive way forward. This international collaboration promises targeted and enhanced conservation work in each country designed to mitigate the threats we have identified here. I am optimistic that we can now develop work between the countries involved to support the species through these current pressures.”

The conference concluded that there were the following significant causes of decline:

Since 1999 too few birds have been hatched each year to balance annual mortality

Excessive snowfall during the period when geese are arriving in the Greenland nesting grounds in recent years and/or:

Competition with a rapidly expanding Canada goose population on Greenland which migrate from North America