Acrocephalus 29 (138/139): 129–135, 2008 129 How to implement the european Birds Directive? Kako uresni~evati evropsko Pti~jo direktivo? On 19 Jul 2009, between 18 and 19 h, Annette Spangenberg, Gabriel Schwaderer and Rainer Luick were listening to the calls of Quails Coturnix coturnix in the cultural landscape near the village of Staraveci near Pheskopi, Korab mountain, Albania. The site is about 1000 m a.s.l. Twice two birds flew off when the group walked through this traditionally cultivated landscape with small fields. In Bosnia and Herzegovina a day before, I myself heard Quails in Dabarsko Polje (500 m a.s.l.) and Fatni~ko Polje (480 m a.s.l.) calling in the evening. On 14 Jul, even at 15 h, a Quail was calling in the remaining polje of Bu{ko Blato (700 m a.s.l.). Why are these observations important? We are celebrating the 30th birthday of the Birds Directive1 in 2009. Yes, it is true that this first conservation act of the European Union is a great success. As early as 1989, the first inventory of the Important Bird Areas in Europe was published (Grimmett & Jones 1989) and included, from the beginning, the whole of Europe. A unique approach and a good basis, not only for the preservation of birds, but also for the protection of the most remarkable sites for nature conservation in Europe. The Important Bird Area programme is based on Article 5 of the Directive, which requires Member States to take the requisite measures to “establish a general system of protection for all species referred to in Article 1” (European Commission 2008, page 11). Today the network of Important Bird Areas is dense and only in a few south-eastern countries – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Kotro{an et al. 2009) and Montenegro (Savelji} et al. 2007) – are there larger gaps that have to be closed. Croatia (Radovi} et al. 2005) and Slovenia are good examples of how this can be achieved in a short time. However, the Birds Directive states in Article 1 that it relates to the “conservation of all species of naturally occurring birds in the wild state in the European territory of the Member States”, and thus addresses not only the management and preservation of habitats of rare or endangered species, but also socio-economic activities such as hunting. In Annex II are listed all species of birds that may be hunted under Article 7 of the Directive on the basis of “…their population level, geographical distribution level and reproduction rate throughout the Community” (European Commission 2008, page 11). While creation of the system of protection started quite early – and already the second edition of the Important Bird Areas was published by BirdLife (Heath & Evans 2000) – implementation of the Birds Directive to protect birds from hunting impacts is still lagging behind. Many species have a bad conservation status, with depleted or even decreasing populations. Nevertheless they are still “huntable” or disturbed by hunting activities (Schneider-Jacoby & Spangenberg 2009). Many sites of great importance are impacted by hunting activity and their capacity in Europe is limited due to such disturbance. The Eurasian wader populations are decreasing rapidly (Delany et al. 2009), 1 Directive 2009/147/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of wild birds (codified version) Uvodnik / Editorial 130 nevertheless the last remaining stopover sites at the Adriatic Coast, like the Neretva Delta in Croatia and the Bojana-Buna Delta in Albania and Montenegro, are still not safe. In 2001 the Sustainable Hunting Initiative was launched by the European Commission. In 2004, the key partners – BirdLife International and FACE (The Federation of Associations for Hunting and Conservation of the EU) – have reached an agreement which will enable hunting to continue within a well- regulated framework, whilst fully respecting the provisions of the Directive. The Guide on Hunting (European Commission 2008) is most important for achieving this goal, and is available in 22 languages2. The Member States have to set the hunting period so as to ensure the period “guarantees complete protection of the species concerned” (European Commission 2008, page 12). The ORNIS committee has published the first survey of the length of the breeding season and the return to breeding grounds in 20012. But still, hunting during the breeding season and during the return period is common in Europe. To implement the Birds Directive in Southeast Europe it is important to review the data in the ORNIS report and to collect information concerning (1) the return to breeding grounds, (2) the length of the breeding season and (3) disturbance of sites important for Annex I species. The return to breeding areas is clearly identified, since birds wintering in Europe start very early to move back. For example, the Cranes Grus grus with transmitters, wintering in the Pannonian Plain, started to move North after mid-January 20093. The 15 Jan is widely accepted as the latest date to stop bird hunting in order not to impact the so-called “spring migration”. For all other birds that are returning from Africa, like Garganey Anas querquedula or Quail, hunting in the first months of the year is not possible anyhow. But not all countries, even in the EU, have implemented the Birds Directive concerning these basic standards, even though FACE and BirdLife have signed the Sustainable Hunting Agreement. In Southeast Europe many huntable bird species, like Woodcock Scolopax rusticola, Snipe Gallinago gallinago, ducks like Teal Anas crecca and Garganey, are very rare since they are killed when they return to the breeding sites. Often they return very early, as they winter near to the breeding grounds, and in order to occupy the best sites. Due to the “leapfrog” migration (European Commission 2008, page 27) the breeding populations of huntable species in several states such as Albania, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are extremely low, as they are depleted during the first months of the year. The implementation of the Birds Directive and a hunting ban after 15 Jan would prevent the loss of diversity in these countries. While the information of the ORNIS committee concerning the return period and prenuptial migration is clear, and hunting of Woodcock, for example, after the 15 Jan is clearly against the Birds Directive, information listed in the tables concerning the breeding periods differs markedly. For example the breeding period of Quails is stated to end in Greece as early as 20 Jul, because only a few breeding birds survive and there is little information. In Germany and the United Kingdom, the breeding season is defined as September and even the first decade of October. If we use the Greece ORNIS data for Albania, 2 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/conservation/wildbirds/hunting 3 http://www.satelliittikurjet.fi/engl_index.html Acrocephalus 29 (138/139): 129–135, 2008 131 Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia, a hunting season on Quail in August would not violate the Birds Directive. But is it correct that the breeding season in these countries is two months shorter than in Germany? Large parts of the Balkan Peninsula are mountainous. Here breeding starts late. However, it is possible that Quails try to breed later in the lowlands, but fail to do so due to the early start of hunting in August. The observations quoted at the beginning, of calling males in late July 2009 in Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina, indicate that Quails are still displaying late in the year in these countries in Southeast Europe. This also indicates that egg laying is still possible and that the breeding period in fact extends, as in Germany, at least until the end of September. Another extreme example in the ORNIS tables is the Grey Partridge Perdix perdix, where the breeding period is listed as just seven decades from March to the end of May in the Netherlands, but is in fact 21 decades until the end of September. For Greece no data are available. The European endemic Rock Partridge Alectoris graeca also has a very long breeding season, from February to the end of September. It is clear, that both species suffer and reproduction decreases if hunting seasons start earlier than October, with disturbance of families or even breeding hens. As data on breeding, incubation and observation of families are difficult to collect, it is important to argue in favour of the protection of the species (compare European Commission 2008, page 12). The hunting season has to be shortened in order to avoid any impact on breeding success or even worse, on the successful females. Every item of information that can be obtained is important now, for the countries in the process of entering the EU. Is the Mallard Anas platyrhynchos not rearing young in September? Have you seen families at the end of July or even in August? Many ducks breed so late, especially in areas where disturbance is low. I observed, for example, a Mallard with chicks about 5 days old in the potential IBA site Haljini}i near Visoko (Central Bosnia) on 19 Jul 2009. The ducklings will have difficulty in flying by 1 Sep. If bird hunting starts in August, the chances for survival are small. A third point is also very important. Many species protected in Annex I are extremely sensitive to hunting impacts. If bird hunting starts in September, or even in August as is normal in Southeast Europe, late breeding Annex I species are disturbed. In the wetlands of Southeast Europe the best example is the Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca (Schneider-Jacoby 2003). On 11 Sep 2009, I saw a duckling about four weeks old in the marshes on the Island of Krk, Croatia, which would need the whole month before being ready to fly. It is clear that duck hunting should not start before 1 Oct if this Annex I species is not to be impacted. Based on such evidence it is clear that in many countries in Southeast Europe the breeding season appears to end early, because the hunting season starts too early and a significant proportion of bird populations cannot breed anymore or raise chicks due to the impact of hunting. Uvodnik / Editorial 132 *** Dne 19.7.2009, med {esto in sedmo uro popoldne, so Annette Spangenberg, Gabriel Schwaderer in Rainer Luick zavzeto poslu{ali prepelice Coturnix coturnix, ki so se ogla{ale sredi kulturne krajine v bli`ini vasice Staraveci na gori Korab nedale~ od Pheskopija v Albaniji. Medtem ko je skupinica pe{a~ila po tej tradicionalno obdelovani krajini z majhnimi polji, sta se s tal dvakrat dvignili dve prepelici. Dan pred tem, v ve~ernih urah, sem imel na Dabarskem polju (500 m nm.v.) in Fatni~kem polju (480 m nm.v.) v Bosni in Hercegovini prilo`nost poslu{ati te ptice tudi sam. Poleg tega se je 14.7. ob 15 h prepelica ogla{ala na Bu{kem blatu (700 m nm.v.). In zakaj so pomembni ti podatki? Pred kratkim smo praznovali 30. obletnico Pti~je direktive1 (2009). Da, ta prvi naravovarstveni predpis Evropske unije je resni~no velik uspeh. @e leta 1989 je bil objavljen prvi popis Mednarodno pomembnih obmo~ij za ptice – IBA (Grimmett & Jones 1989), ki je `e od samega za~etka pokrival celotno Evropo. Ta svojevrstni pristop je bil dobra osnova za ohranitev ne le ptic, marve~ tudi za naravovarstveno za{~ito najbolj izjemnih lokacij v Evropi. Program IBA sloni na 5. ~lenu Direktive, ki od dr`av ~lanic EU terja, da sprejmejo potrebne ukrepe za »uvedbo splo{nega sistema varstva vseh vrst ptic iz ~lena 1« (Evropska komisija 2008, str. 10). Danes je omre`je IBA `e precej gosto, tako da je treba zapolniti le {e nekaj ve~jih vrzeli v dr`avah jugovzhodne Evrope, kot so Albanija, Bosna in Hercegovina (Kotro{an et al. 2009) in ^rna gora (Savelji} et al. 2007). Dobra primera, kako je to mogo~e uspe{no uresni~iti, sta Hrva{ka (Radovi} et al. 2005) in Slovenija. Toda Pti~ja direktiva v 1. ~lenu navaja, da se Direktiva nana{a na »ohranjanje vseh prostožive~ih vrst ptic, naravno prisotnih na evropskem ozemlju držav ~lanic«, pri ~emer ne obravnava le upravljanja in ohranjanja habitatov redkih ali ogro`enih vrst, marve~ tudi socio-ekonomske dejavnosti, vklju~no z lovom. V Prilogi II so navedene vse pti~je vrste, ki jih je v okviru 7. ~lena Direktive dovoljeno loviti zaradi »svojega populacijskega nivoja, geografske razporeditve in stopnje razmnoževanja v Skupnosti« (Evropska komisija 2008, str. 11). Medtem ko je sistem za za{~ito `e zgodaj dosegel zavidljivo raven in je BirdLife (Heath & Evans 2000) poskrbel {e za drugo izdajo mednarodno pomembnih obmo~ij za ptice (IBA), pa uresni~evanje Pti~je direktive, ki zadeva za{~ito ptic pred posledicami (pretiranega) lova, {e vedno mo~no zaostaja za na~rti. Mnoge vrste so v slabem stanju ohranjenosti, z mo~no zred~enimi in celo upadajo~imi populacijami. Pa vendar so {e vedno “lovne” in vznemirjane zaradi lovskih dejavnosti (Schneider-Jacoby & Spangenberg 2009). Mnoge zelo pomembne lokalitete so pod velikim pritiskom zaradi lovskih aktivnosti, {tevilo lokalitet brez ve~jih motenj pa je v Evropi omejeno. Kljub naglemu upadanju evrazijskih populacij pobre`nikov (Delany et al. 2009) {e vedno niso varne tudi zadnje obstoje~e selitvene postaje na jadranski obali, kot na primer delta Neretve na Hrva{kem in delta Bojane-Bune v Albaniji in ^rni gori. Leta 2001 je Evropska komisija predstavila tako imenovano Pobudo za trajnostni lov. Leta 2004 pa sta glavna partnerja – BirdLife International in 1 Direktiva 2009/147/ES Evropskega parlamenta in Sveta z dne 30. novembra 2009 o ohranjanju prosto žive~ih ptic (kodificirana razli~ica) Acrocephalus 29 (138/139): 129–135, 2008 133 FACE (Zveza organizacij za lov in varstvo divjadi Evropske unije) – dosegla sporazum, po katerem je lov mogo~e sicer nadaljevati, a v podrobno predpisanem okviru in ob strogem upo{tevanju zahtev Pti~je direktive. Najpomembnej{i za doseganje tega cilja je »Navodilo o lovu« (Evropska komisija 2008), ki je na voljo v 22 jezikih2. Dr`ave ~lanice EU morajo dolo~iti lovne dobe tako, da »zagotovijo popolno varovanje zadevnih vrst« (Evropska komisija 2008, str. 11). Odbor ORNIS je v letu 2001 objavil prvi pregled obdobij gnezditve in spomladanskega vra~anja ptic na gnezditvena obmo~ja v letu 20012. Pa vendar je lov med gnezdilno sezono in med obdobjem vra~anja ptic {e vedno obi~ajna praksa v Evropi. Za uresni~evanje Pti~je direktive v JV Evropi je nadvse pomembno ponovno preveriti podatke v poro~ilu odbora ORNIS in zbirati informacije, ki zadevajo (1) vra~anje ptic na gnezdi{~a, (2) dol`ino gnezditvenega obdobja in (3) motnje na lokalitetah, pomembnih za vrste, navedene v Prilogi I. ^as vra~anja na gnezdi{~a je jasno dolo~en, saj se ptice, prezimujo~e v Evropi, za~nejo vra~ati nanje zelo zgodaj. @erjavi Grus grus, na primer, ki so opremljeni z oddajniki prezimovali v Panonski ni`ini, so se za~eli seliti proti severu sredi januarja 20093. 15.1. je tako splo{no sprejet kot najpoznej{i datum za~etka lovopusta za ptice, da lov ne bi vplival na njihovo spomladansko selitev. Na vse druge ptice, ki se vra~ajo iz Afrike, kot na primer reglja Anas querquedula in prepelica, pa tako ali tako ni mo`en lov v prvih mesecih leta. Toda dejstvo je, da Pti~je direktive, kar zadeva te osnovne standarde, ne uresni~ujejo celo nekatere dr`ave v EU, pa ~eprav sta FACE in BirdLife podpisala Sporazum o trajnostnem lovu. V JV Evropi so mnoge lovne vrste, kot na primer sloka Scolopax rusticola, kozica Gallinago gallinago in race, kakr{ne so kreheljc Anas crecca ali reglja, zelo redke, saj jih pobijajo `e v ~asu, ko se vra~ajo na gnezdi{~a. In pogosto se vrnejo zelo zgodaj, ker prezimujejo nedale~ od gnezditvenih obmo~ij. Ptice se namre~ posku{ajo vrniti br` ko je mogo~e, da bi zasedle kar najbolj{a gnezdi{~a. Zaradi selitve v slogu “`abjega skoka” (Evropska komisija 2008, str. 27) so gnezditvene populacije lovnih vrst v mnogih dr`avah, kot na primer v Albaniji, Hrva{ki ter Bosni in Hercegovini, izjemno majhne, saj so mo~no zred~ene `e v prvih mesecih leta. Uresni~evanje Pti~je direktive in prepoved lova po 15.1. bi torej prepre~ila nadaljnjo izgubo diverzitete v teh dr`avah. Medtem ko je informacija odbora ORNIS glede obdobja vra~anja in selitve v ~asu pred gnezditvijo povsem jasna in je lov na sloko, na primer, po 15.1. brez dvoma v nasprotju s Pti~jo direktivo, pa se informacije v tabelah, ki obravnavajo gnezditveno obdobje, precej razlikujejo. Gnezditvena sezona prepelice, na primer, se v Gr~iji kon~a `e 20.7., saj je pre`ivelo zelo malo gnezde~ih osebkov, tako da so na voljo le redke informacije. V Nem~iji in Veliki Britaniji {tejejo september in tudi prvo dekado oktobra za del gnezditvenega obdobja. ^e uporabimo podatke gr{kega odbora ORNIS za Albanijo, Bosno in Hercegovino, Hrva{ko, ^rno goro in Srbijo, sezona lova na prepelico v mesecu avgustu ne bi bila v nasprotju s Pti~jo direktivo. Toda le zakaj bi morala biti gnezditvena sezona v teh dr`avah kar za dva meseca kraj{a kot v Nem~iji? Velika obmo~ja Balkanskega polotoka so gorata. Tu se gnezdenje za~ne precej pozno. Toda tudi v ni`inskem svetu je mogo~e, da prepelice posku{ajo gnezditi pozneje, a jim je to morda onemogo~eno zaradi zgodnjega za~etka lova v avgustu. Opa`anja, 2 http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/conservation/wildbirds/hunting 3 http://www.satelliittikurjet.fi/engl_index.html Uvodnik / Editorial 134 kot smo jih opisali na za~etku tega besedila o kli~o~ih prepeli~jih samcih proti koncu julija 2009 v Albaniji ter Bosni in Hercegovini, ka`ejo, da prepelice svatujejo pozno poleti tudi v teh dr`avah jugovzhodne Evrope. To pa hkrati ka`e na to, da lahko {e vedno le`ejo jajca in da je gnezditveno obdobje dalj{e, in traja tako kot v Nem~iji, vse do konca septembra. [e en skrajen primer na tabelah odbora ORNIS je jerebica Perdix perdix, katere gnezditvena sezona traja na Nizozemskem samo sedem dekad od marca do konca maja, medtem ko dejansko traja 21 dekad, do konca septembra. Za Gr~ijo ni nobenih podatkov. Tudi kotorna Alectoris graeca, evropska endemi~na vrsta, ima zelo dolgo gnezditveno obdobje, in sicer od februarja do konca septembra. Jasno je, da sta obe vrsti pod pritiskom lova in da se reprodukcija zmanj{uje, ~e se lovska sezona za~ne prej kot oktobra in so mo~no vznemirjane dru`ine in celo gnezde~e samice. Ker je podatke o gnezditvi, valjenju in opa`anja o dru`inah te`ko zbrati, je pomembno, da se bojujemo za za{~ito vrst (primerjaj Evropska komisija 2008, str. 12). Lovne dobe je treba vsekakor skraj{ati, ~e se `elimo ogniti vplivom na gnezditveni uspeh ali, celo huj{e, na uspe{ne samice. Za dr`ave v fazi pribli`evanju EU je zdaj pomembna vsaka informacija, ki jo je mogo~e dobiti. Ali mlakarica Anas platyrhynchos ne vzgaja mladi~ev v mesecu septembru? Ste ̀ e videli dru`ine ob koncu julija ali celo avgusta? Mnoge race gnezdijo tako pozno posebno v obmo~jih, kjer je njihovo vznemirjanje majhno. Osebno, na primer, sem opazoval mlakarico s pet dni starimi mladi~i v Haljini}ih, potencialnem mednarodno pomembnem obmo~ju za ptice, blizu Visokega v osrednji Bosni 19.7.2009. Ra~ke bodo seveda te`ko poletele pred 1.9. In ~e se lov na ptice za~ne `e avgusta, so mo`nosti, da bodo pre`ivele, zelo majhne. Zelo pomembno pa je tudi naslednje. Mnoge vrste, ki jih {~iti Priloga I, so izjemno ob~utljive za lovske vplive. ^e se lov na ptice za~ne septembra ali celo avgusta, kar je povsem obi~ajna praksa v JV Evropi, se pod hudim pritiskom znajdejo pozno gnezde~e vrste iz Priloge I. Na mokri{~ih v JV Evropi je najbolj{i tak{en primer kostanjevka Aythya nyroca (Schneider-Jacoby 2003). Dne 11.9.2009 sem na otoku Krku na Hrva{kem opazoval kake {tiri tedne starega mladi~a, za katerega je bilo o~itno, da bo potreboval cel mesec september, preden bo sposoben poleteti. Jasno je, da se lov na race ne bi smel za~eti pred 1. oktobrom, ~e bi `eleli, da to ne bi vplivalo na to vrsto iz Priloge I. Meni osebno se zdi jasno, da se gnezditvena sezona v mnogih dr`avah JV Evrope kon~a zgodaj, ker se sezona lova za~ne prezgodaj, tako da velik del pti~je populacije zaradi motenj ne more ve~ gnezditi ali vzgojiti mladi~ev. Martin Schneider-Jacoby Acrocephalus 29 (138/139): 129–135, 2008 135 References / Literatura Delany, S., Scott, D., Dodman, T. & Stroud, D. (2009): An Atlas of Wader Populations in Africa and Western Eurasia. – Wetlands International, Wageningen. European Commission (2008): Guidance document on hunting under Council Directive 79/409/EEC on the conservation of wild birds “The Birds Directive”. [http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/conservation/wildbirds/hunting/docs/ hunting_guide_en.pdf]. Evropska komisija (2008): Navodila za lov v skladu z Direktivo Sveta 79/409/EGS o ohranjanju prosto žive~ih ptic “Direktivo o pticah“. – [http://ec.europa.eu/ environment/nature/conservation/wildbirds/hunting/docs/hunting_guide_sl.pdf]. Grimmett, R.F.A. & Jones, T.A. (eds.) (1989): Important bird areas in Europe. – ICBP, Cambridge. Heath, M.F. & Evans, M.I. (eds.) (2000): Important bird areas in Europe: Priority sites for conservation. 2 vols. BirdLife Conservation Series No. 8. – BirdLife International, Cambridge. Kotro{an, D., [tumberger, B. & Schneider-Jacoby, M. (2009): IBA (Important Bird Areas) – Podru~ja zna~ajna za ptice. – Na{e Ptice, Sarajevo. Radovi}, D., Kralj, J., Tuti{, V., Radovi}, J. & Topi}, R. (2005): National Ecological Network – areas important for birds in Croatia. – Dr`avni zavod za za{titu prirode, Zagreb. Savelji}, D., Vizi, A., Vesovi} Dubak, N. & Jovi~evi}, M. (2007): Podru~ja od me|unarodnog zna~aja za boravak ptica u Crnoj Gori. – CZIP, Podgorica. Schneider-Jacoby, M. (2003): Lack of Ferruginous Duck protection in Croatia – A reason for the decline in Central Europe? pp. 44–53 In: Petkov, N., Hughes, B. & Gallo-Orsi, U. (eds.): Ferruginous Duck from Research to Conservation. Conservation Series No. 6. – BirdLife International, BSPB, TWSG, Sofia. Schneider-Jacoby, M. & Spangenberg, A. (2009): Protection of Priority Wetlands for Bird Migration (Adriatic Flyway) in the Dinaric Arc Ecoregion through Integrated Site and River Basin Management. – EuroNatur, Radolfzell. – [http://www. euronatur.org/Facts-and-Figures.936.0.html].