The 1st international Conference on Black Stork Ciconia nigra took place in Kemeri (Latvia) in 1993. Since then, a total of six international conferences on Black Stork have been organized:
I International Conference on Black Stork in Kemeri (Latvia) 1993
II International Conference on Black Stork in Trujillo (Spain) 1996
III International Conference on Black Stork in Saint Michelle (Belgium) 2001
IV International Conference on Black Stork in Davod-Püspökpuszta (Hungary) 2004
V International Conference on Black Stork in Uzlina (Romania) 2008
VI International Conference on Black Stork in Châlons-en-Champagne (France) 2012
From 28 to 30 November 2018, the VII International Conference on Black Stork will take place at Doñana National Park, a protected area in Southern Spain, probably the most important overwintering area for the species in Europe. It will be organized by the IUCN SSC Stork, Ibis and Spoonbill Specialist Group, The Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD-CSIC) and Junta de Andalucía (Andalusian government). The interest of the conference is to gather specialists of the species to present the most updated information of the species, most recent researches and strengthen the network and collaboration among specialists. More than 30 researchers and specialists from 14 countries are registered.
Oral presentations and posters will be organized into 4 sessions:
- Session 1: Black Stork Population and Trends
- Session 2: Ecology and Behavior of Black Stork
- Session 3: Threatens and Conservation of Black Stork
- Session 4: Movements, Tracking, Ringing & Migration
The program will have a special session to discuss about the future of the international working group and a field trip to learn about the wintering population of the species at Doñana National Park.
The contents of the conference will be published in an online issue of the Stork Ibis and Spoonbill Conservation journal promoted by the homonym specialist group of the IUCN SSC.
The official language of the VII International Conference on Black Stork is English
Featured image: Black Stork group wintering near Doñana National Park, Spain. © Alejandro Torés Sánchez.