Assessing impacts on geese from mining activities in the Ramsar site Heden, East Greenland

Abstract

Due to planned mining activities inside a Ramsar site in Jameson Land, East Greenland, studies of Pink-footed Anser brachyrhynchus and Barnacle Branta leucopsis geese were performed in 2008. An aerial survey in Jameson Land showed a threefold increase in the moulting geese over the last 20 years to c. 19,000 Pink-footed geese and 16,500 Barnacle geese. About 25% of the Pink-footed geese can be affected by the mining activities. About one third of the breeding Pink-footed geese in Jameson Land breed in the affected area. The possible effects of the mining activities were assessed in relation to three disturbance scenarios, expressed by distances of 1.5, 5 and 10 km from the activities. The worst case scenario (10 km zone) could affect 4,900 moulting Pink-footed and 530 moulting Barnacle geese and at least 30 successfully breeding pairs of Pink-footed geese. In the proposed Ramsar replacement area in Jameson Land, moulting geese numbered c. 3,000 Pink-feet and 4,700 Barnacles. A monitoring study and a study of yet another replacement area are proposed.