declines are mainly attributable to offtake for falconry (especially trapping of breeding birds), habitat change resulting in prey loss in Kazakhstan (Watson & Clarke 2000) and electrocution on power lines (e.g. Dixon et al. 2013, 2017), although persecution, pesticide use leading to secondary poisoning (notably in Mongolia in 2003) and agrochemical deployment play a lesser part (Baumgart 1991; Remple 1994; Barton 2000; Riddle 1994; Eastham et al. 2000; Fox 2002; Haines 2002; ERWDA 2003; Kovács et al. 2014).
Name
Emma Hemmerlé
Scientific Name
Falco cherrug
Common Name(s)
Saker Falcon
Type of Use
Extractive (i.e., the entire organism or parts of the organism are removed from its environment)
If extractive, for the target species, is this use
Non-Lethal
Does this use involve take/extraction of
The whole entire organism
Details of parts/products taken
falcons either captured from the wild or bred in captivity for trade for arabian falconry
Provide Details of resource rights regime where relevant
In relation to wild-take, the convention on International trade in Endangered species (CITES) currently only allows the international trade of one important falconry species, the saker Falcon (Falco cherrug), and this trade is effectively limited to one source country, Mongolia. Market demand for wild-sourced saker Falcons is greater than can be supplied by Mongolia alone; consequently there is also an illegal, unregulated trade in this species;
It is not exactly known how many falcons are illegally trapped each year in Mongolia, but the estimated figure is around 300 birds annually;
Local people (e.g., individuals, communities, co-operatives)
International external (individual, groups. e.g., hunters, anglers, photographers, tourists)
If more than one box ticked, please provide more details
Falconry is part of the traditional cultural heritage of the Arabic people and is widely practiced in the united Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and bahrain; saker Falcons per year over the last decade (table 1), with 99% of these birds destined directly for the Arabian falconry market.
Is the use part of a strategy to generate conservation incentives, to finance conservation, or to improve tolerance/stewardship?
Yes
Is there evidence that the use is affecting the conservation status of the species? HIDE
Yes – use is negatively affecting the status (e.g., population is declining; extraction effort is increasing)
Is there evidence that the use is affecting natural selection?
Unknown/not recorded
Is there evidence that the use is affecting poaching of illegal wildlife trade?
Unknown/not reported
Is there any evidence that this use of the species is having a knock-on effect on the status of non-target species
Unknown/not recorded
Unknown/not recorded
Details of assessment carried out
the determination of an annual harvest quota depends on the survival and productivity of sakers at the artificial nests and the age and sex of the sakers harvested by the falcon trappers; the project outlined here is an attempt to approach saker conservation in a pragmatic manner through the concept of sustainable use, which is a key element of the convention of biological Diversity. At present we are only able to report on the early stages of its development and to address some of the foreseeable practical and biological issues that may arise. We recognize that this scheme is ambitious and that there are likely to be many unforeseen difficulties to overcome in its implementation, but at present there is an opportunity to adopt such a conservation strategy in Mongolia whilst there is still a relatively large and healthy saker Falcon population.
Has a valuation of financial flows from this use at the site/national/international level been recorded
Dixon, A. et al (2012) Developing a sustainable harvest of Saker Flacons (Falco cherrug) for falconry in Mongolia; In r. t. Watson, t. J. cade, M. Fuller, G. hunt, and E. Potapov (Eds.). Gyrfalcons and Ptarmigan in a changing World. the Peregrine Fund, boise, Idaho, USA. http://dx.doi.org/10.4080/gpcw.2011.0315
We describe recent advances in the develop-ment of a program in Mongolia that uses artificial nests to create a demonstrably sustainable harvest of saker Falcons for the Arabian falcon trade.
this ‘conservation through sustainable use’ initiative was supported by the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD) and was adopted by the Mongolian Ministry of nature, Environment and tourism (MNET) and CITES as a potential means of resolving the problem. subsequently, for 2009 and 2010, CITES imposed a maximum annual quota of 300 birds on Mongolia, which is to be reviewed in 2011 pending satisfactory development of the artificial nest program described here;
uncontrolled and unregulated trapping of saker Falcons is thought to be the main cause of rapid and extensive population declines in parts of central Asia, particularly in the countries of the former soviet union (birdlife International 2011);