Seosan in South Korea was the venue for the first global flyways meeting, which brought together flyway conservation experts from around the world to discuss the main issues facing migratory birds. The hunting community was represented by FACE’s Angus Middleton, who presented some of what hunters in Europe have been doing for Flyway Conservation.

WHAT ARE HUNTERS DOING?
FACE is involved in many of the relevant Multilateral Environmental Agreements and has a very active role in AEWA (African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement) as an observer organisation, having participated in the AEWA Technical Committee Meeting in September and gearing up for the Standing Committee in November.  
At European level, one of the most significant partnerships has been the Birdlife-FACE Agreement which began 5 years ago as an agreement to respect the EU Birds Directive but has since developed through regular bilateral meetings to include joint activities in other conservation fields (e.g. reform of the EU Common Agricultural Policy).
FACE and its Members also support research and monitoring of migratory birds with examples such as the active participation of Nordic Hunters’ Associations in the Nordic Waterbirds and Climate Network (NOWAC) and support to the European institute for the management of wild birds and their habitats OMPO. 
At national and site levels there are many thousands of activities being undertaken by hunters such as the Club International des Chasseurs de Bécassines (CICB) in France which look into the habitats, research and hunting of snipe.
There are also actions in respect of endangered species such as the Lesser White-fronted Geese (Anser erythropus) where - as an example from Hungary - a flagging system is employed with the full cooperation of the regional and local hunters’ associations to ensure that hunting is controlled at key sites during the migration period. 
However all these actions need greater coherence and FACE is embarking on an ambitious programme to address this through The Biodiversity Manifesto, which seeks to bring about a greater coordination and coherence in our conservation efforts through 34 actions. This will be further developed and reported on in line with EU and global processes up to 2020.  

There is much work to be done but the hunting and bird protection communities no matter how diverse have significant common points to work together for effective flyway conservation, which is in the interest of all.
FACE will share its experience and information at the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) COP-10 Meeting in Norway this month, as part of our commitment to ensuring the best flyway conservation possible.

For more on our work for migratory birds: http://www.face.eu/com_news-en_migratory-birds.html.