UNEP and SPP join forces to protect the Dalmatian Pelican
A memorandum between the UNEP-administered Secretariat of the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) and the Society for the Protection of Prespa (SPP) has recently been signed, aiming to foster a wide international collaboration for the conservation of the spectacular Dalmatian Pelican (Pelecanus crispus).
The SPP will coordinate the operation of an international working group of government officials and experts across two continents, Europe and Asia, which is being convened under AEWA. The aim of this initiative is to ensure the full implementation of the “International Single Species Action Plan for the Conservation of the Dalmatian Pelican” in all seventeen countries which host the species. Similar intergovernmental groups have been convened under AEWA for only a handful of other priority species in Africa and western Eurasia.
It is fitting that a Greek NGO will play a leading role in coordinating the implementation of the International Action Plan because Greece is the third most important country in the world for the species. Lesser Prespa Lake hosts one of the largest breeding colonies of the Dalmatian Pelican on Earth. Starting in 1985, the Hellenic Ornithological Society / BirdLife Greece implemented conservation actions for the Dalmatian Pelican and, since 1990, the SPP has carried out pioneering work for the study and safeguarding of the species. In 2018, the two NGOs drafted the international action plan, which includes all the necessary actions across the species’ Eurasian range.
The Dalmatian Pelican is one of the largest inhabitants of the Eurasian wetlands and one of the two rarest pelican species in the world. Today, it is classified as “Near Threatened” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List because it has suffered from severe threats over the past century, such as the degradation of wetlands, direct persecution and mortality due to collisions with power lines. The international team of experts will coordinate and evaluate the implementation of the action plan through meetings, workshops and the exchange of best practices, with the aim of limiting these threats.
“We are excited to join forces with dozens of experts, governments and civil society organizations around the world to address the threats to this endangered species. Our goal is to mobilize governments to fully implement the agreed measures and actions,” says Dr. Giorgos Catsadorakis on behalf of the SPP, to whom he is Scientific Advisor; Dr Catsadorakis is also Chairman of the IUCN Pelican Specialist Group.
“The Hellenic Ornithological Society / BirdLife Greece fully supports this strategic initiative. The Dalmatian Pelican is a flagship species of the Greek wetlands and has been a long-standing conservation target for HOS / BirdLife Greece since its foundation in 1982, and the first conservation project for the species, until today. We can safeguard the future of the species, one of the most impressive inhabitants of Eurasian wetlands, with coordinated efforts and decisiveness”, says Panos Kordopatis, Conservation Coordinator of HOS / BirdLife Greece.
