2 results
Preliminary assessment of the scope and scale of illegal killing and taking of birds in the Mediterranean
- ANNE-LAURE BROCHET, WILLEM VAN DEN BOSSCHE, SHARIF JBOUR, P. KARIUKI NDANG’ANG’A, VICTORIA R. JONES, WED ABDEL LATIF IBRAHIM ABDOU, ABDEL RAZZAQ AL- HMOUD, NABEGH GHAZAL ASSWAD, JUAN CARLOS ATIENZA, IMAD ATRASH, NICHOLAS BARBARA, KEITH BENSUSAN, TAULANT BINO, CLAUDIO CELADA, SIDI IMAD CHERKAOUI, JULIETA COSTA, BERNARD DECEUNINCK, KHALED SALEM ETAYEB, CLAUDIA FELTRUP-AZAFZAF, JERNEJ FIGELJ, MARCO GUSTIN, PRIMOŽ KMECL, VLADO KOCEVSKI, MALAMO KORBETI, DRAŽEN KOTROŠAN, JUAN MULA LAGUNA, MATTEO LATTUADA, DOMINGOS LEITÃO, PAULA LOPES, NICOLÁS LÓPEZ-JIMÉNEZ, VEDRAN LUCIĆ, THIERRY MICOL, AÏSSA MOALI, YOAV PERLMAN, NICOLA PILUDU, DANAE PORTOLOU, KSENIJA PUTILIN, GWENAEL QUAINTENNE, GHASSAN RAMADAN-JARADI, MILAN RUŽIĆ, ANNA SANDOR, NERMINA SARAJLI, DARKO SAVELJIĆ, ROBERT D. SHELDON, TASSOS SHIALIS, NIKOS TSIOPELAS, FRAN VARGAS, CLAIRE THOMPSON, ARIEL BRUNNER, RICHARD GRIMMETT, STUART H.M. BUTCHART
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- Journal:
- Bird Conservation International / Volume 26 / Issue 1 / March 2016
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 03 March 2016, pp. 1-28
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- Article
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Illegal killing/taking of birds is a growing concern across the Mediterranean. However, there are few quantitative data on the species and countries involved. We assessed numbers of individual birds of each species killed/taken illegally in each Mediterranean country per year, using a diverse range of data sources and incorporating expert knowledge. We estimated that 11–36 million individuals per year may be killed/taken illegally in the region, many of them on migration. In each of Cyprus, Egypt, Italy, Lebanon and Syria, more than two million birds may be killed/taken on average each year. For species such as Blackcap Sylvia atricapilla, Common Quail Coturnix coturnix, Eurasian Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs, House Sparrow Passer domesticus and Song Thrush Turdus philomelos, more than one million individuals of each species are estimated to be killed/taken illegally on average every year. Several species of global conservation concern are also reported to be killed/taken illegally in substantial numbers: Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata, Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca and Rock Partridge Alectoris graeca. Birds in the Mediterranean are illegally killed/taken primarily for food, sport and for use as cage-birds or decoys. At the 20 worst locations with the highest reported numbers, 7.9 million individuals may be illegally killed/taken per year, representing 34% of the mean estimated annual regional total number of birds illegally killed/taken for all species combined. Our study highlighted the paucity of data on illegal killing/taking of birds. Monitoring schemes which use systematic sampling protocols are needed to generate increasingly robust data on trends in illegal killing/taking over time and help stakeholders prioritise conservation actions to address this international conservation problem. Large numbers of birds are also hunted legally in the region, but specific totals are generally unavailable. Such data, in combination with improved estimates for illegal killing/taking, are needed for robustly assessing the sustainability of exploitation of birds.
16 - The environmental impact of EU green box subsidies
- from PART IV - Green box subsidies and the environment
- Edited by Ricardo Meléndez-Ortiz, Christophe Bellmann, Jonathan Hepburn
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- Book:
- Agricultural Subsidies in the WTO Green Box
- Published online:
- 03 May 2010
- Print publication:
- 03 December 2009, pp 468-495
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Summary
Introduction
With over €372 billion to be spent over the 2007 to 2013 budget period on agricultural subsidies in the European Union (EU), these subsidies have become a key determinant of farmers' incomes, frequently accounting for over one-half of European farmers' annual earnings, and thus of land use decisions. The way in which these subsidies have been allocated has therefore shaped land use patterns across the EU and consequently had a resounding impact on wildlife and the environment in rural areas. At the same time, these subsidies have been accused of heavily distorting world trade to the detriment of farmers in developing countries and have become one of the principal stumbling blocks in the Doha Round of negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) underwent significant reform in 2003. This reform was driven by negotiations at the WTO and, to a lesser extent, by the environmental impacts of the CAP. It resulted in a shift of CAP spend from traditional market and product support measures to green-box-compliant schemes, namely, subsidies that are considered to be non-trade-distorting. It also saw the introduction of minimum environmental standards for all farmers in receipt of subsidies, known as cross-compliance, and the strengthening of environmental schemes.
These trends are likely to continue with the ongoing “health check” of the Common Agricultural Policy as well as the post-2013 EU budget review, which provides an opportunity for substantial reform.