The Saker Task Force (STF) was set up under the Raptors MOU of the Convention on Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS). International Association for Falconry and Conservation of Birds of Prey (IAF), works together in partnership with CMS, Birdlife International and IUCN on the first of the flagship projects designed to save the saker falcon.

During 2012-14, the CMS-STF worked with researchers, falconers and other conservationists to draft a Saker Falcon Global Action Plan (SakerGAP), which was adopted by the CMS conference of parties at Quito, Ecuador in November 2014. The SakerGAP proposed flagship projects for managing and monitoring the species. The IAF sponsored website www.sakerfalcon.org provides information in English for researchers, veterinarians and other practitioners, and is part of the first project.

THE FIRST OF THE FLAGSHIP PROJECT

The project is a co-operation between the IAF, UNEP, Birdlife and IUCN. The Saker Portal to Enhance Trust is an online information portal, which has been completely funded and managed by the IAF. It is designed to communicate with falconers, trappers and falcon hospitals in saker range countries, developing their trust, educating on sustainable use and conservation and gaining information on the scale of saker use.

It links here in English to another part of this portal project, which is in Arabic, Pashto, Persian and Russian, for falconers, trappers and local land managers in Saker breeding areas. That site cassies the results of a survey which has now started to embrace in management and monitoring all those whose passion and livelihoods involve the Saker Falcon.

THE SECOND OF THE FLAGSHIP PROJECTS
In order to understand what is causing the decline of saker falcon populations we first need to know where they go. Using satellite tracking on tagged birds will allow us to map their migration routes and identify the main cause of saker falcon deaths.

IAF has initiated the second flagship project – co-founding the first ten loggers for the 100 satellite tagged sakers of the 100 proposed in the Saker Proposed Action Plan