The Federation of European Hunting Associations (FACE) and the European Union collaborate to implement new environmental protection programs, aimed at safeguarding huntable bird species. Hunters always on the front line to defend flora and wildlife.
The EU Commission, in collaboration with the Natura 2000 Network and with the coordination of Birdlife international, has launched in recent years action plans for 54 species of birds that are globally threatened and listed in Annex I of the Birds Directive.
A note from the EU Commission takes stock of what has been achieved so far, highlighting that the best levels of implementation have been achieved to a greater extent in countries with different SPAs, even if protection has been far lower in areas where measures go beyond the classic approach to managing protected areas. The causes are attributable to the lack of political will to manage threats linked to land use such as intensive agriculture, commercial fishing and increasing urbanization.
The EU note says verbatim: “Overall, the results are encouraging, the population trend of 8 species has significantly improved, bringing the population from a state of 'decline' or 'stable' to an 'increasing' state. 4 species have arrested the decline of the population, while another 5 have remained stable or have stabilized ”.
From 2004 to 2009, Life + supported investments of 175 million euros for endangered poultry species, about half of what was spent from 1993 to 2003. These resources were used, for example, to save the Spanish imperial eagle (Aquila adalbert), increased 6 times in the last 15 years or the Azorean bullfinch (Pyrrhula murina), rescued from the danger of extinction by a Life loan, for actions aimed at conservation and its population reached about 775 individuals, tripled compared to 2005.
The Commission has made it clear that it intends to continue supporting new and old protection plans. In fact, a new list of species is being prepared which will also be used to define funding priorities in the context of Life +. An important aspect concerns the fact that many of these actions are coordinated with the international hunting world.
The Commission is rethinking the entire process of developing the Plans with the assistance of BirdLife International and FACE (Federation of European Hunting Associations), with the aim of improving the implementation of the plans with the support of all stakeholders. For this reason, and always with the collaboration of FACE, there is also the possibility of developing Action Plans for huntable species. These assessments will be considered by Member States and should lead to major new development programs for the conservation of birds and their natural habitats.
The active participation of FACE in these projects is synonymous with the importance and role that the hunting world has in the defense of nature. Once again, hunters are at the forefront of protecting wildlife.