The #BernConvention Week! Today @FACEForHunters - the voice of the hunters of Europe - presents the exemplary work of hunters on the management of IAS (Invasive Alien Species) to European governments at the Berne Convention. Today, the European Federation for Hunting and Conservation (FACE) will present at the Bern Convention a presentation on the positive work of European hunters in managing IAS. The meeting will be attended by representatives of governments of European countries and a number of interested parties. IAS are one of the five main factors of biodiversity loss. In Europe alone, there are over 12.000 alien species, of which 15% are invasive and pose a serious threat to European biodiversity.
In 2013, FACE and the International Association for Falconry and the Conservation of Birds of Prey (IAF) collaborated with the Bern Convention to develop a code of conduct on hunting and invasive alien species. The code sets out 7 Principles to guide the activities that hunters and hunting associations undertake to minimize and prevent the negative influence of IAS. Since then, FACE and IAF have produced implementation reports every two years to show concrete examples of actions taken to meet the requirements mentioned in each of the 7 principles of the Code of Conduct.
Responding to the initiative, the secretariat of the Bern Convention said: "Civil society organizations play an important role in the implementation of the strategies and tools developed by the Bern Convention. The Secretariat of the Bern Convention is grateful for the efforts that FACE and IAF are making to engage regularly with hunting associations across Europe to combat the spread of invasive alien species".