EUROPEAN RAPTOR MONITORING NETWORK (EURAPMON)

In autumn 2006, the RRF Eurasian Committee proposed the launch of a new initiative called TERMS (The European Raptor Monitoring Scheme). The goal of this project was to oversee and harmonise the collection, regular updating and publication of international population estimates for raptors in Europe, using similar protocols to those already well-established in North America. The first TERMS workshop was due to be held at the RRF October 2007 Eurasian Conference in Batumi, Republic of Georgia. However, due to the late cancellation of the Batumi conference, the TERMS initiative became temporarily stalled.

In October 2007, the RRF Eurasian Committee was invited to merge the TERMS initiative with a pre-established consortium that was attempting to create a similar initiative, called the European Raptor Monitoring Network (EURAPMON). The main aim of EURAPMON is to monitor contaminant levels in raptors as an indicator for ecosystem and human health in Europe. Combining the international expertise of raptor ecologists with the expertise of eco-toxicologists from across Europe, EURAPMON has the potential to deliver a broad and effective international monitoring strategy for raptor populations in a region where current monitoring protocols are largely restricted to a national level.

In March 2010, the EURAPMON group had managed to secure funding of over €450,000 and the five-year project was formally accepted by the European Science Foundation. The inaugural EURAPMON meeting took place in Sicily in October 2010, where over 50 delegates from 25 countries gathered to discuss programme planning for the project. Key priorities were identified as:

• Establishing an inventory of existing raptor monitoring activities across Europe;
• Establishing an inventory of existing protocols for raptor monitoring (including field surveys, collecting, storing and analysing contaminant samples, data analysis and reporting) and making these standardized protocols available to all participants;
• Providing a forum for networking between raptor researchers and eco-toxicologists across Europe.

Further information can be found on the EURAPMON website.

Research Networking Programme EURAPMON -Research and monitoring for and with raptors in Europe. Inaugural Workshop – Final Report Published May 2011