On 4-5 November, Jesper Madsen, professor at Aarhus University and head of the EGMP Data Centre, delivered guest lectures on the ecology and management of geese at the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS). UNIS invited Madsen to share the knowledge from his long-term scientific work on goose breeding in Svalbard as well as his engagement in international management of geese under the EGMP.

Nineteen bachelor students attended the course dedicating a full day to an exercise on how to implement the AEWA/EGMP International Single Species Management Plan for the Pink-footed Goose in Svalbard. Students engaged in problem framing, stakeholder identification, setting goals and objectives as well as establishing protocols for monitoring and evaluation. Some of the concerns addressed were the longer-term effects of the grubbing of vegetation by geese as well as possible disturbance effects caused by the increasing tourism in Svalbard.