The EGMP Secretariat and Data Centre are pleased to announce that Sander Moonen will be taking on the role of Coordinator for the Barnacle Goose Task Force for Russia, Netherlands and Germany population.

Sander Moonen is an ecologist specializing in goose research, with a master’s degree from Wageningen University. He previously conducted research at the Institute of Avian Research in Wilhelmshaven focusing on goose movement and behavior. Sander currently works in the Animal Ecology group at Wageningen Environmental Research (WEnR), contributing to a large-scale national project studying Barnacle and Greylag Goose, initiated under the AEWA EGMP network. Within the project, Sander is responsible for catching and marking geese, as well as conducting research on crippling rates of geese in the Netherlands and along their flyways.

With extensive field experience across Europe and  the Arctic, Sander is well-connected in the international goose research community. He also serves as a board member of the IUCN SSC Goose Specialist Group, facilitating global collaboration on migratory goose research.

The Russia Barnacle Goose Task Force was established at the 5^th Meeting of the European Goose Management International Working Group in June 2020. It currently comprises 23 members from 8 Range States, the European Commission and 4 non-governmental organizations

The EGMP Secretariat and Data Centre would like to express gratitude to the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality for supporting the Task Force coordinator position and to Sander for stepping into this important role.

The EGMP team looks forward to further advancing the implementation of the Barnacle Goose International Single Species Management Plan and its Adaptive Flyway Management Programme.