Conference Proceedings - "WATERFOWL" INFORMATION NETWORK International Conference
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The London Waterfowl Project - Looking to the Future

Author: Dr Debra Bourne, Project Manager, London Waterfowl Project, Wildlife Information Network

As this conference draws to a close I would like to take a short time to summarise the achievements of the London Waterfowl Project, the challenges faced and the work which still remains to be done.

The London Waterfowl Project was set up to assist in the management of waterfowl and their habitats in Greater London by developing a communication and information network, making it easier for managers to access the information they need, both published and by talking to one another.

During the past two years we have contacted managers responsible for waterfowl and their habitats in London and talked to them, individually and at our Planning Workshop last year, about their needs and wants. With the help of our steering group, whose expertise we have drawn on gratefully, we have been able to address the majority of the issues that came up at the Workshop.

Information on London's waterfowl and their major diseases is on the Waterfowl Health and Management 'Special Edition' CD-ROM which you have all been given, and more information will be added to the website and will be sent to you all when the next version of the CD-ROM is produced.

A wide range of information on important issues and on a variety of organisations has been brought together for this conference and is available as a permanent record in the proceedings as a ready-reference guide.

There have been four major challenges in developing this project:

• Finding out what information is needed

• Developing the Wildpro system

• Handing the huge volume of data

• Finding out who owns what, who is responsible for which areas, and contact details.

The major lessons we have learned are:

• Everything takes longer than expected

• There is a lot of published information, but it is indeed widely scattered and not always easy to access

• There is a wealth of unpublished information held by various individuals and organisations

• The London Waterfowl Project and Wildpro are needed to pull information together and make it accessible

Our ongoing work includes:

• Cataloguing of waterfowl habitats and their ownership

• Providing that information, with details of contact names and numbers, to the Environment Agency for their Hotline

• Completing the answers to the Frequently Asked Questions

• Completing the information on waterfowl management.

Looking to the Future:

• The next version of the 'Waterfowl Health & Management' CD-ROM

• Updating Contacts List

• Updating information on the Website as needed - a 'living document'

• Expanding the communication network

• British wildlife - First Aid, Legislation.

Wildlife Information Network
The Royal Veterinary College
Royal College Street
London NW1 0TU

Tel: 0171 388 7003

Fax: 0171 388 7110