PREFACE

The 6th World Conference venue was the Hotel Agro, situated on a hilltop on the edge of the city, with a fine view of Budapest and several nearby areas of forest. Here participants gathered from around 47 countries including Brazil, Cuba, the USA, Canada, South Africa, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Russia, China, Taiwan and Japan. At the opening, the assembled participants were welcomed by the WWGBP Chairman (Bernd-Ulrich Meyburg), the Hungarian Minister of the Environment, the President of MME/BirdLife Hungary (Gyorgy Kallay) and a leading member of BirdLife International (Nigel Collar). Following the official opening Ian Newton gave an hour-long keynote address on "Population Limitation in Owls", Laszlo Haraszthy and Janos Bagyura presented an overview of the status of raptors and their conservation in the host country, Hungary, followed by Robert Risebrough with an account of the population crash of the three vulture species of the genus Gyps in the subcontinent of India. Finally, A. Muller-Helmbrecht and M. Barbieri gave a summary of the Bonn Convention on the Protection of Migratory Species, its present and future role in the conservation of birds of prey and owls. After a drinks party and dinner two films were shown, one on bird protection in Hungary, the other, by Michel Terrasse, on the Andean and Californian Condors. Monday morning (19 May) was devoted to birds of prey in Hungary. Today, in Hungary, 21 raptor species breed and 34 in all have been recorded. Between 600 and 800 members of a special Working Group are dedicated in particular to their protection. Their activities form an exemplary model which one wishes other countries would follow. Conservation measures include monitoring, nest guarding, erection of artificial nests and prevention of electrocution from power lines. Particularly intensive activity is devoted to the Imperial Eagle and Saker Falcon, both of which have seriously declined worldwide and are today threatened with extinction. For both these species the results are truly impressive, showing a remarkable upward trend. In 1980 only 13 pairs of Saker were known, with an estimated possible maximum of 30 pairs. In 2002 113 known pairs fledged 279 young and the total population is estimated to be 113145 pairs, 78% of which breed in artificial nests. Since the introduction of systematic protection measures 2,553 young falcons have flown. What becomes of the majority of these remains a mystery. Better marking and possibly satellite tracking are being considered, in order to close this gap in our knowledge. The second success story concerns the Imperial Eagle. After World War II the population declined dramatically, reaching a lowest point at the end of the 1970s and early 1980s with only ca. 20 breeding pairs remaining in Hungary. In 2002 54 pairs were known, 38 breeding attempts were successful and 63 young fledged. The population today is estimated at 61-65 pairs. Of special interest is reoccupation of the lowlands, from which the species had retreated to the mountains. Today the Imperial Eagle can once more be seen on the wide