falco - International Wildlife Consultants Ltd.

EditorialL o o k i n g through thearticles in this issue of FALCOit is clear that healthy falcon populations,especially in Central Asia,are still threatened in many ways.Members of the Middle East FalconResearch Group working in the field con- stantlyprovide current information on situations as they happenand without these sources of information most of us,including policymakers and organisations would remainoblivious to these serious threats to wildlife. At this verymoment, raptors including Sakers, are being poisonedby treated grain in Mongolia, not directly, but becausevoles are in competition with herders’ livestock for vegetation.It seems obvious to us what the consequence ofpoisoning voles will be as predators higher up the foodchain feed from them and consequently die. However, wecannot expect a nomad on the steppe to have the basicbiological knowledge to understand these problems. Wecould, however, expect the manufacturers to take greaterresponsibility for what they sell. The irony of it all is thatby poisoning the voles, they are removing the naturalmechanism which to a certain extent controls the volepopulations at no cost. But this would not provide anopportunity for business.There are two issues which should and could be addressedhere. In many countries of the world there is a need forbasic biological education and awareness. Where betterto start than in the schools. Educate the children, some ofwhom will in future live off the land, others might workin departments where environmental policies are an issue.Most will at some stage in their lives produce children oftheir own to whom they can pass down the importanceof caring for the environment in which they live and onwhich they depend. In terms of funding, good educationis one of the most cost-effective ways of achieving practicalimprovements for conservation.the ground who know what is actually happening. How manymillions of dollars have been spent and are still spent by largedevelopment organizations on writing reports on situationsand proposals for projects, when most of the time the answersare already known by researchers working in the country.Think how much further ahead we would be if that moneyhad been directed straight at the problem, the people and theenvironment in need. Practical biology, ecology and environmentalstudies are certainly a case where the benefits of governmentaldepartments, research organizations and universitiescollaborating and working together, add up to considerablymore than the sum of the individual parts. It is important thatwe don’t cover old ground but direct funding and resources topresent-day issues and areas most in need.We are currently collaborating with CITES regarding theimportation of captive-bred birds to the UAE. Representativesof the Middle East Falcon Research Group and theEnvironmental Research and Wildlife Development Agency(ERWDA) recently held talks with CITES Secretariat. Theoutcome is of obvious importance but equally important is theknowledge that two organizations, one largely administrative,the other heavily involved in field biology and conservationissues, are working together to resolve a situation which neithercould satisfactorily solve on its own. Organisations wieldthe power, but it is the researchers who have the facts andboth need to work hand in hand.We’d like as always to thank those who have written articlesfor this 20th issue of FALCO. We regularly receive positivecomments about the newsletter, most of them complementary,and we are grateful to those who continue to supportthe Middle East Falcon Research Group. The newsletter isdistributed to many different countries and is proof of thelarge amount of work which is being carried out on aspects offalcon and raptor bilogy. It is read by people in policy-makingpositions, it does influence awareness and we hope that it ultimatelybenefit raptors and the environment.The EditorsThe second issue is much more difficult. Selling grainis a business and businesses have the intention to makemoney. Most business, where public distribution isrequired, are supported by governments. Unless thegovernments themselves take a responsibility for theirenvironment then incidences such as the spreading ofpoisoned grain will continue to happen. Whether we aretalking about Central Asia or Europe there is a commonproblem. There is not enough transfer of informationbetween those in decision-making positions and those on2