Slovakia has a capercaillie rescue program, due to which it lost at the EU Court of Justice

Bratislava – The Ministry of Environment (MŽP) SR has published the Program for the Rescue of the Western Capercaillie for the years 2025 – 2029. Its goal is to stop the decline and stabilize the population of the Western Capercaillie in Slovakia, and with this program, the environmental ministry is also responding to the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union, TASR reports.

In June 2022, the EU Court of Justice announced that Slovakia, in a case concerning the protection of the Western Capercaillie, violated the Habitats and Birds Directives. The court found that Slovakia did not subject certain plans and projects with significant impacts on these areas to an adequate impact assessment and did not adopt necessary measures to protect the habitats of this species.

The ministry sees cooperation with land managers, local owners, administrators, and forest users as the correct solution. In addition to passive management, the Rescue Program proposes to implement active measures, create stand gaps ideally distributed in a mosaic pattern, and connecting corridors. Equally important is education, participation, and cooperation in the measures as well as in monitoring the Western Capercaillie and genetic studies, the ministry added. Preserving and stabilizing the capercaillie population is possible, according to the State Secretary of MŽP Filip Kuffa, not only through strict bans and restrictions by the state but also through active measures to improve capercaillie habitats based on scientific knowledge and intensive cooperation with land managers.

“Adopting the rescue program will allow us to direct Eurofunds primarily towards meaningful projects that will improve conditions for the protection of this species, through active engagement of land managers,” said Kuffa. He stated that aid schemes are being prepared that will motivate owners and users of land to implement suitable management measures on their lands to preserve the core capercaillie population and its connectivity in the landscape. This may include building suitable migration corridors.

According to the ministry, the capercaillie thrives not only in non-intervention nature reserves but also requires a diverse mosaic of suitable habitats throughout the year that provide shelter, food, and are interconnected. “Therefore, forest areas, which are managed while respecting the requirements of the capercaillie, provide space for its life,” stated the ministry.

Kuffa explained that in the rescue program, they identified together with scientific institutions over 38,000 hectares of forest land where active measures to improve capercaillie habitats are needed.

Currently, 12 protected bird areas are declared for the protection of the capercaillie, seven of which have a government-approved care program. For another area, the care program has already been discussed according to the law, and the environmental ministry plans to submit it for government discussion in the near future. (February 13)