From October 5 to October 8, 2023 in the village Divnoye, Stavropol Territory, in the administration building of the Apanasenkovsky Municipal District, the Fifth International Scientific Conference “Cranes of the Palearctic: Biology, Conservation” was held, organized by the Working Group on Cranes of Eurasia (WGGE), the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution (RAS), the Russian Bird Conservation Union and the Apanasenkovsky branch of the All-Russian Society for Nature Conservation.
The choice of the conference venue was not accidental. Divnoye is located in the Manych valley, which lies on the migration route of cranes and other birds to their southern wintering grounds. By the end of August, demoiselle cranes gather here from the entire territory from the Central Ciscaucasia to the Urals, as well as Northwestern Kazakhstan, from where in the first half of September they migrate to wintering grounds in the Nile basin. From the second half of September until the end of November, before flying to their wintering grounds in Turkey, Israel and Ethiopia, gray cranes from most of European Russia gather here. Unfortunately, in November-December 2022, a mass death of gray cranes was noted in the Stavropol Territory, and this problem was a key one at the conference.
The conference was attended by 42 specialists from 32 organizations from Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia, as well as representatives of national and international environmental public organizations. For the first time in the history of RGJE conferences, participants who were unable to attend in person participated online.
The President of the Eurasian Crane Study Society Anatoly Fedorovich Kovshar, who welcomed the participants of the conference online, proposed to name the Society after Vladimir Evgenievich Flint, the first president of the organization. The conference participants warmly supported this proposal.
On October 5, on the first day of the conference, a round table “Threats to the populations of gray cranes and demoiselles” was organized to discuss the trend of a sharp decline in the number of demoiselle cranes in the European part of its range and the problem of mass poisoning of gray cranes in the Stavropol Territory in the winter of 2022/2023 and the ongoing mass death of pelicans and waterfowl and waders. In addition to the conference participants, the round table was attended by representatives of the Directorate of Protected Natural Areas and the Department of Protection, Control and Supervision over the Use of Wildlife of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Stavropol Territory, the North Caucasus Interregional Directorate of Rosselkhoznadzor, the North Caucasus Interregional Directorate of Rosprirodnadzor, GBU SK "Apanasenkovskaya regional station for combating animal diseases" and the editorial office of the newspaper "Primanych Steppes". The most pressing problems of animal death were identified, their causes were discussed, and recommendations were given to prevent animal death. It was decided to continue cooperation on solving the problem of poisoning of cranes and other bird species in agricultural fields and reservoirs in the North Caucasus region with supervisory authorities in the field of nature conservation and agriculture, which began during the round table. The need to disseminate the results of the discussion of the threat to the populations of gray cranes and demoiselles in the North Caucasus region through the mass media and social networks was noted.
Conference participants noted alarming trends in the sharp decline in the number of demoiselles in the European part of its range, associated with the deterioration of the condition of nesting habitats and mass hunting along the flight route through Saudi Arabia. It is necessary to conduct a census of the demoiselle along its flight path through the Republic of Dagestan and the Chechen Republic to assess the abundance of the species in the European part of its range and the degree of its decline over the past 20 years. It is proposed to use social networks as anti-advertising for hunting for gray cranes and demoiselles in Saudi Arabia, and also to ask the Crane Group of the Species Survival Commission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, as well as the International Crane Conservation Foundation and the Secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species to re-apply to the environmental authorities of the Kingdom Saudi Arabia with a request to strengthen counteraction to illegal hunting of cranes.
During the conference, participants discussed the current state of the populations of the Siberian Crane, Japanese, White-naped, and Sandhill cranes, monitoring of autumn aggregation and wintering sites, biology, migrations, breeding and reintroduction, methods of study and environmental education, and current problems of crane protection.
The participants made a number of decisions reflected in the conference resolution. In particular, it includes proposals for disseminating experience in the use of new technologies, including photo and video cameras, unmanned aerial vehicles, GPS-GSM transmitters for studying nesting, population ecology, distribution, migration and conservation of cranes in cooperation with the European Working Group on Cranes, the Northeast Asian Crane Working Group and other national and international organizations.
The conference participants approved the activities of the Nursery of Rare Species of Cranes of the Oka State Natural Biosphere Reserve, the Station for the Reintroduction of Rare Species of Birds of the Khingan State Nature Reserve and the Muravyovsky Park to improve methods for raising and releasing rare species of cranes into the wild. A report was made on the reaction of Siberian Cranes to the collection of eggs, which was carried out to replenish the captive population of Siberian Cranes, in which recommendations were given on collection methods for further implementation of similar work.
The achievements of the members of the organisation in the field of fundamental and applied research in the biology, ecology, genetics and parasitology of cranes were noted, as the basis for measures to protect and restore populations, and it was proposed to continue collecting biological material for genetic, population and morphological studies.
The activities of the Eurasian Crane Study Society in the field of environmental education were approved, which includes, in particular, the widespread celebration of the “Crane Day” holiday, first initiated by the group in 2002, and the involvement of the local population in the conservation of cranes.
At the end of the conference, with the efforts of the Social and Cultural Center of the village. Divnoye, a concert was organized in honor of the Crane Day holiday, and the resolution noted the need to further promote the celebration in the Manych Valley with the involvement of schoolchildren and the local population.
Conference participants visited Lake Manych, where they assessed the scale of death of waterfowl and waders during an outbreak of an infectious disease in August 2023. Among the remains of the dead birds were spoonbills and avocets, species listed in the Red Book of Russia.
The international scientific conference was a significant event in the field of crane conservation not only for residents of the village Divnoye, but also on a wider scale. Its progress was widely covered in local and regional media. The successful implementation was greatly facilitated by the Administration of the Apanasenkovsky Municipal District of the Stavropol Territory and the Social and Cultural Center (SCC) of the Divnoye region. The conference participants are grateful to the head of the administration D.A. Klimov, deputy head A.I. Bulavinov, employees V.I. Ponushkov and N.I. Denisenko, as well as the director of the SCC L.V. Kovaleva and employee L.I. Gergel. Special gratitude was expressed towards V.N. Fedosov, Apanasenkovsky branch of the All-Russian Society for Nature Conservation, IEE RAS and Eurasian Crane Study Society for organizing and holding the conference, the Russian Bird Conservation Union for agreeing to support the publication of the collection of proceedings of the International Conference “Cranes of Eurasia-7” and E.A. Koblik and V.V. Gridneva for preparing the conference logo and banner layout.
The conference participants proposed that the Russian Bird Conservation Union contribute to the holding of the Sixth International Scientific Conference of the Russian State University of Journalism in 2027 in the Altai Territory, Russia.
Program and abstracts of reports of the Fifth International Scientific Conference “Palaearctic Cranes: Biology, Conservation.”
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