The meeting will discuss the latest information on the development of the goose population and decide on possible follow-up measures for the stocks within the mandate of the European Goose Management Platform.
In the case of white geese, the effects of exempted shooting on the development of different populations are being discussed. In the case of geese, gray geese and pink geese, the Member States in which they are hunted will agree on future hunting quotas. In Finland, the game species are the geese and the gray goose. Most of the breeding geese in Finland are of the subspecies taiga goose, for which an international management plan has been introduced. In October-November, a large number of tundra swans also migrate through south-eastern Finland. Topics to be addressed include agricultural damage, the working group’s budget for next year, and monitoring and research needs.
The meeting is co-hosted by the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. The Finnish delegation includes members of the working group of the ministries, the Natural Resources Center and the North Ostrobothnia ELY, as well as experts and stakeholder representatives from the Finnish Environment Institute, the Natural Resources and Transport Centers of Southwest Finland and North Karelia, the University of Turku, the Finnish Hunters’ Association and Bird.
The aim of the cooperation was to create a mechanism for the sustainable management and exploitation of goose populations
The European Goose Management Platform is an important step forward in international cooperation to protect migratory birds and ensure sustainable hunting. The species involved in its work include both declining and more abundantly growing species.
The working group is composed of state representatives and experts nominated by them from 16 countries. The European Commission and key European stakeholder organizations in nature conservation, hunting and agriculture are also involved. The aim of cooperation is to maintain a favorable level of protection for goose populations while reducing, for example, the serious damage to agriculture caused by certain species and the risks to air traffic.
What is AEWA?
The purpose of the AEWA, the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Birds, is to promote the protection of waterfowl and their habitats throughout their migratory area, ie in nesting, staging and wintering areas. The agreement is administered by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). In the case of Finland, it applies both to species protected under the Nature Conservation Act and to all hunted water game birds.
Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Ministry of the Environment
Source: The Nordic Page