2nd Falcon Day International Forum Dates Announced

11 April 2024

2nd Falcon Day International Forum Dates Announced

The Organizing Committee of the 2nd Falcon Day International Forum met in Moscow under the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Viktoria Abramchenko. The meeting was attended by representatives of the federal executive authorities and regional heads of the Russian Federation.

The 2nd Falcon Day International Forum is scheduled to take place on the opening day of the 9th Eastern Economic Forum, 3 September 2024, in Vladivostok.

“We held this event for the first time last year as part of the Eastern Economic Forum. I consider it to have been a success, and now we are continuing our work as part of the Comprehensive Plan for the establishment in Russia of centres for the reintroduction and conservation of Falconiformes in Kamchatka Krai and bustards in the Republic of Kalmykia. This year’s Forum and expanded participation will further strengthen international environmental cooperation and cement the platform’s role as place for developing strategic solutions capable of protecting and increasing the population of rare birds of prey,” Abramchenko said.

Meeting participants spoke of how much needed to be done to maintain the conditions necessary for a comprehensive dialogue on important environmental initiatives to take place between the authorities, experts, and scientific community. No less important is the creation of an objective information space where Russia’s efforts to prevent and eradicate poaching, smuggling, and illegal trade in rare birds can receive fair coverage.

“The Falcon Day Forum was first integrated into the EEF’s international programme of events in 2023, and this year it is important that we push forward and work together with our partners, primarily from the Middle East and Asia, to develop a list of measures for the conservation and increase of rare birds of prey. It is also important to pay attention to the development of a conservation programme through bilateral meetings with, for example, Mongolia, to exchange unique experience and solutions for breeding and studying Falconiformes in their natural environment. Our most basic task is to strengthen cooperation with nations that Falconiformes call home and support the traditions of the peoples of the East,” Adviser to the President of the Russian Federation and Executive Secretary of the EEF Organizing Committee Anton Kobyakov said.

Participants of the Organizing Committee meeting considered the issues accompanying the development of business, cultural, and exhibition programmes for the Forum.

The events of the business programme will focus on the development of rehabilitation centres, modern methods for building the population back up, and advanced scientific technologies for the study and monitoring of falcons.

The business agenda will centre around the plenary session, where the experience of other countries in the conservation of Falconiformes will be shared. The heads of the ministries of a number of Arab and Asian countries have been invited to participate. The 2023 event resulted in the signing of a framework Declaration on the Conservation of the Gyrfalcon Population, which is currently joined by six countries: the Kingdom of Bahrain, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and the UAE. There are plans to expand cooperation on this document, initiated by Russia, with invitations to join the Declaration currently being considered by several Arab countries falling within the range of the Gyrfalcon’s natural habitat.

Meeting participants also discussed expanding the Forum programme to include a presentation of strategic measures for conserving the Gyrfalcon and Peregrine Falcon in Russia, currently being implemented by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of Russia as part of the Ecology National Project’s ‘Conservation of biological diversity and development of ecological tourism’ federal project. One such topic discussed was the implementation of an initiative to include Falconiformes in the list of rare and endangered wildlife and an international project developed by the Republic of Kalmykia to preserve the red-crested bustard.

The 2023 Forum hosted the first auction in the history of modern Russia, attended by representatives of the Persian Gulf. Great interest on the part of Russian business has led to plans for an expansion of the number of participants involved. This year’s event will be held with the support of the Russian Auction House and VNII Ecology in conjunction with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation and the Roscongress Foundation in accordance with the provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), adopted on 3 March 1973. In keeping with tradition, the proceeds from the auction will go to the development of centres for reintroducing and conserving Falconiformes, ecological tourism in the region, and research in the natural environment and through the centres.

As part of the Eastern Economic Forum ‘Far East Street’ exhibition, Arabian village, which will consist of traditional Bedouin tents where participants and guests will be treated to Arabic coffee and traditional sweets prepared according to the ancient recipes, promises to be this year’s exhibit centrepiece. The Falcon Day cultural programme will feature Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky’s traditional city-wide festival, dedicated to falconry.

As in 2023, the final event planned for the Falcon Day International Forum will be the ‘We Preserve’ race in support of the Russian President’s Gyrfalcon conservation programme. The race is 5 kilometres in length and will be held on Russky Island. More than 700 residents and guests of the regional capital took part in the race in 2023.

2nd Falcon Day International Forum Dates Announced

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