RT17: Establishment of an IOC Standing Committee on raptors

¹Avian Science and Conservation Centre of McGill University, 21,111 Lakeshore Rd., Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec, H9X 3V9, Canada  e-mail bird@nrs.mcgill.ca; ²World Working Group on Birds of Prey, Wangenheimerstrasse 32, 14193 Berlin, Germany, e-mail wwgbp@aol.com

Bird, D.M. & Meyburg, B.-U. 1999. Establishment of an IOC Standing Committee on raptors. In: Adams, N.J. & Slotow, R.H. (eds) Proc. 22 Int. Ornithol. Congr., Durban: 3193. Johannesburg: BirdLife South Africa.

Raptors are at the top of the food chain and enjoy a large following among scientific and conservation communities throughout the world. There exist certain Standing Committees in the International Ornithological congress, some of which focus on a field, e.g. nomenclature, applied ornithology, and some which focus on a particular group of birds.

A Round Table Discussion organised and chaired by David Bird, past-president of the Raptor Research Foundation and Bernd-Ulrich Meyburg, president of the World Working on Birds of Prey and Owls, was held on Wednesday, August 19, 1998 in Durban, South Africa. About 25 interested people discussed the establishment of a Standing Committee on Raptors after a brief address by IOC permanent Secretary, Walter Bock, on how such committees function and what roles they serve.

It was decided unanimously to request the IOC to establish such a committee.

The functions of the IOC Standing Committee on Raptors will be to: (1) Encourage and implement the airing of hypotheses concerning birds of prey to IOC attendees by means of symposia, e.g. phylogeny of raptors, reversed size dimorphism. (2) Encourage discussion on the conservation of raptors through Round-Table discussions. (3) Bring conservation issues concerning raptors to the attention of the IOC and demonstrate what ornithological research needs to be done to assist in seeking solutions, e.g. effects of chemical pollutants, raptors as indicators of habitat fragmentation, impact of agriculture on raptors. (4) Stimulate networking among international raptor groups, e.g. Raptor Research Foundation, World Working Group on Birds of Prey.

Should the IOC approve the establishment of a Standing Committee on raptors, we envisage it functioning in the following manner. For the next four years until the IOC in China, the Standing Committee on Raptors will be chaired jointly by David Bird and Bernd-Ulrich Meyburg. For simplicity, all communication can be initially directed to Dr. Bird (e-mail bird@nrs.mcgill.ca) who will immediately copy Dr. Meyburg. The rest of the committee will be jointly appointed by the co-chairs who will take into consideration geographic representation, skills and resources.