IUCN/SCC Otter Specialist Group Bulletin
© IUCN/SCC Otter Specialist Group

Volume 17 Issue 2 Pages 59 - 99 (October 2000)

IUCN/SCC OSG Group
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From the Chairman's Desk

When this issue of our Bulletin will be published the VIII International Otter Colloquium in Valdivia/Chile will be in progress or will already be finished. We all hope for a fruitful meeting and hope it reaches one of its main targets, i.e. to give an impetus for otter work in Latin America.

One of the topics for this meeting of otter people from all over the world will be a discussion on the future membership structure of the OSG. Those who are interested in membership should be aware that the OSG is not an independent organisation. It is part of the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of IUCN - The World Conservation Union. The framework for the expectations of, and the preconditions for, those who want to join this unique network of scientists and conservationists is described on the SSC website:
http://www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/species/spec30/memguide/engmem.htm
More information about OSG membership regulations will be available from March 2001 through the Chair of the OSG.

Since the OSG is serving the SSC, knowledge about the work and the targets of the SSC should be mandatory for everybody who wants to be part of the OSG. Three documents were recently published which are recommended for further information.

The Strategic Plan of the SSC for the period 2000-2010
(http://www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/news/stratplanintro.htm)
shows (i) how the Commission is contributing to the wider biodiversity conservation agenda of IUCN, (ii) sets measurable priority targets, (iii) provides a rationale for the choices of additional priorities, and (iv) provides guidance to the Specialist Groups. This Strategic Plan was ratified at the World Conservation Congress held in October 2000 in Amman. As part of this congress, a two-day working meeting of the SSC took place, which I attended. A short report about this meeting is available at http://www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/memonly/amman.htm.
A more detailed report, with summaries of all presentations, is available from the OSG Chair ('SSC report'). An overview of the SSC's work over the last three years is given in the triennial report for 1997-99, available at:
http://www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/memonly/trienreport9799.htm.

The most important information about the 2nd World Conservation Congress in Amman for OSG members might be the publication of the new 2000 IUCN Red List, available at:
http://www.iucn.org/redlist/2000/index.html,
and the introduction of the Species Information Service - SIS, available at:
http://www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/programs/sisindex.htm.
It is planned that the latter will be available for Specialist Groups by 2001.

A very successful workshop was held in November for the OSG and Aktion Fischotterschutz (Germany) at the German otter centre in Hankensbüttel. Forty-two participants from all over the world tried to answer the question "How to implement the Otter Action Plan?". In the opening session, the structure of the new Otter Action Plan (OAP), and the expectations from this plan for the different regions, were introduced. In four very intensive discussion workshops, recommendations were prepared as to how the OAP could be implemented on the international, the national, the scientific, and the public level. The proceedings of this workshop will be available in March from Aktion Fischotterschutz.

Another successful workshop, attended by several OSG members, was organised in September by Paul Yoxon (International Otter Survival Fund) and Jim Conroy (ITE Banchory) on the Isle of Skye. The meeting brought together experts in the field of toxicology who tried to standardise methodologies and provide meaningful data for comparative purposes. The proceedings of this workshop will be published soon. One outcome of this meeting was also the setting up of a toxicology list server. Those interested in joining this list are asked to contact Paul Yoxon (iosf@otter.org).

It was at this meeting that Arno Gutleb and Jim Conroy agreed to finish the preparation process for the proceedings of the VII International Otter Colloquium, held in Třeboň. We all should thank these colleagues for their efforts. It is hoped that, through the financial support of Aktion Fischotterschutz, the proceedings will be published in early spring of 2001.

Another recent publication (autumn 2000) has already had a very positive response: the report "Surveying and Monitoring Distribution and Population Trends of the Eurasian Otter (Lutra lutra)", written by Reuther, C., Dolch, D., Green, R., Jahrl, J., Jefferies, D., Krekemeyer, A., Kucerova, M., Madsen, A. B., Romanowski, J., Roche, K., Ruiz-Olmo, J., Teubner, J. and Trindade, A. The report has been published as issue no. 12 of HABITAT, the scientific journal of Aktion Fischotterschutz. This book of 148 pages contains the evaluation of a great number of survey reports. The conclusions drawn from this process form the basis for an update of the operational guidelines for the 'Standard Method' for surveying and monitoring distribution and population trends of the Eurasian otter. From my point of view, this cooperative effort of 13 authors from 8 European countries forms a remarkable step forward towards standardising and making comparable data for the whole of Europe.

The Hankensbüttel workshop in November was also connected with a meeting of the board of editors of the OAP. On the basis of more than 400 pages of manuscripts prepared so far, the board decided on some alterations to the structure of the OAP. For me, as chairman of this board, it was a pleasure to experience the constructive and forceful atmosphere of this meeting. As a result of this meeting, the membership of the board was restructured. It now consists of Michaela Bodner, Rosemarie Green, Arno Gutleb, Syed Hussain, Marcela Kucerova, Gonzalo Medina, Jan Nel, Janice Reed-Smith, Kevin Roche, Christof Schenck, Tom Serfass, and myself. Some other colleagues have been, or will be, asked to join this board. It is hoped that this meeting, and the new structure of the board, will give this important project a new impetus.

This is also what I expect for the work of the OSG for the year 2001. The VIII International Otter Colloquium, a new membership structure for the OSG, and the Otter Action Plan, should form a good basis for increasing the efficiency of the OSG still more. I would like to thank all otter people who supported the work of the OSG in the year 2000, especially those who contributed to a remarkable extent to the preparation process of the OAP. I hope that this enthusiasm can be kept (and possibly increased) over 2001, and may act as a model for others who are invited to contribute to the work of the OSG and to join the worldwide 'otter family'.

Claus Reuther,
Chairman IUCN/SSC Otter Specialist Group
Aktion Fischotterschutz e.V.,
OTTER-ZENTRUM, D-29386 Hankensbüttel,
Germany
Phone: +49/5832/98080
Fax: +49/5832/980851
e-mail: c.reuther@otterzentrum.de

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