Strasbourg, 25 October 2012 T-PVS/Inf (2012) 21

[inf21e_2012]

CONVENTION ON THE CONSERVATION OF EUROPEAN WILDLIFE

AND NATURAL HABITATS

Standing Committee

32^nd meeting

Strasbourg, 27^th-30^th November 2012

__________

Questionnaire for the reporting of Parties

to the Bern Convention on the measures undertaken to implement the Standing Committee Recommendation No. 155 (2011) on the Illegal Killing, Trapping and Trade of Wild Birds

Document

prepared by

BirdLife International

Questionnaire

for the reporting of Parties to the Bern Convention on the measures undertaken to implement the Standing Committee

Recommendation No. 155 (2011) on the Illegal Killing, Trapping and Trade of Wild Birds

Contact details:

Country:
Organisation:
Name and position of responsible person:
E-mail:
Phone:
Date of completing the form:

Please do not hesitate to contact us to help you fill in the questionnaire or for any other questions you may have: BirdLife Europe, Willem Van den Bossche, e-mail: [email protected], Tel.: +32 2 541 07 82

A. Communication and national strategy

Q1: Were the results of the 1^st European Conference on Illegal Killing of Birds (Larnaca, Cyprus, 6-8 July 2011) discussed and promoted in your country?

£ No

£ Yes

If yes, please describe when, where and how(in governmental administration, civil society, others)?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Q2: The national communication strategy on Illegal killing, Trapping and Trade of Wild Birds has/is:

£ not started yet

£ being developed by: …………………..

£ will be published/issued in ……../…….. (M/Y)

£ developed and implemented by:………………………………………………

If the communication strategy is developed, please provide a weblink to the communication material, list the participating interest groups, and first impressions/analysis of the impact.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Q3: Does the communication strategy and its actions cover the following aspects?

	Yes	partly	no
Killing/taking for leisure
Killing/taking for consumption
Killing/taking for collection
Control of predating birds
Killing/taking inside protected areas
Killing/taking outside the legal season
Killing/taking without a permit
Use of illegal equipment
Illegal trapping
Poisoning
Killing/taking of protect species
Illegal trade and transit

Q4: Please describe the best practices in awareness-raising activities carried out or planned to address the aspects of illegal bird killing listed in Q3. Where possible mention the type of material (leaflets, manuals, press releases, …), the target audience, scale of investment and impact.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Q5: Do national or regional stakeholders (ministries, agencies, authorities, NGOs and others) exchange information on best practices on awareness-raising, knowledge sharing such as data exchange?

£ No

£ Yes, irregular

£ Yes, coordinated by …………

If yes please specify how

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Q6: Please describe potential barriers raised by stakeholders when promoting the recommendations of the Larnaca conference and your solutions to these barriers

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

B. Monitoring and enforcement

Q7: Do you have a national/regional focal point to collect reports of bird crimes and/or birds found dead or trapped?

£ No

£ Yes

If the answer is yes, please describe where the unit is based (government agency, NGO, etc.), how the unit is financed and with what human and financial resources they work

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Q8: Which stakeholders are invited to report to the focal point and how?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Q9: Does the burden of proof lie with the defendant or with the enforcement authorities?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Q10: Is there a national/regional systematic monitoring and reporting system for illegal activities?

£ No

£ Yes

If yes please specify the reporting format

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Q11: Is there a national/regional practice to report on prosecution, court cases, convictions and penalties on illegal activities?

£ No

£ Yes

If yes please specify the reporting format

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Q12: Do you measure the effectiveness of the detection of bird crimes and their prosecution?

£ No

£ Yes

If yes, please specify how

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Q13: Do you measure the recidivism rate of people convicted for illegal killing, trapping and trade of birds?

£ No

£ Yes

If yes please share any available statistics

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Q14: Please describe the best practices on legal provisions and enforcement mechanisms relevant to tackle illegal killing, trapping and trade of birds. This can for example include successful substitutions for illegal activities, cross-compliance mechanism that link subsidies to penalties, compensation mechanisms, subsidies for prevention measures, trade of illegal equipment, etc.)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Q15: Were domestic and/or international links identified between the demand for wild birds and the supply through illegal activities?

£ No, not checked

£ No, checked but none identified

£ Yes

If yes please specify the links

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Q16: Do special units of police, prosecutors or judges exist for combatting wildlife/bird crime?

£ No, not allowed by internal judicial processes

£ No, no time or capacity

£ Yes

If yes please specify

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Q17: Please describe any important constraints in the existing legislation to tackle illegal killing, trapping and trade of birds.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Q18: What practical steps would strengthen investigation and enforcement to tackle illegal killing, trapping and trade of birds?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Q19: Can you provide information of studies on the biological consequences of habitat deterioration by species disturbance?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Q20: Were hotspots of bird concentrations and illegal activities identified and prioritised following the implementation of the Larnaca recommendations?

£ No

£ Yes

If yes please specify

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Q21: The control on illegal killing of birds in protected areas is more intensive than in the wider countryside:

£ No

£ Yes

If no, please specify why there is insufficient management (capacity)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

If yes please specify the best practices

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………