Czech Republic 2025

The Goose Specialist Group of the IUCN SSC held its 21st conference in Mušov, Pasohlávky, South Moravia, Czech Republic, from 27th – 31st of January 2025. The conference was organized by the Faculty of Environmental Sciences of the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague and the Goose Specialist Group of IUCN SSC.

The Conference took place in Hotel Thermal in Mušov, close to the Czech/Austrian Border. The hotel is located (48.9043 N, 16.5790 E) on the shore of Upper Lake of Nové Mlýny Water Reservoir, i.e., the centre of the most important site for wintering geese and other waterbirds in Czechia.

Czechia, as well as other central European countries, has become more important for wintering geese and other waterbirds in recent years. South Moravia is the most important region within the country, with a high concentration of White-fronted, Tundra Bean, and Greylag Geese. Other wintering species include Barnacle, Brent, Red-breasted, Lesser White-fronted, and Pink-footed Geese.

South Moravia is a unique region of the Czech Republic. It is located at the edge of the Pannonian plateau and Bohemian-Moravian Highlands. The history of this region is ancient, including mammoth hunters in the ice age, the edge of the Roman Empire, and later centuries-old border between Austria, Moravia, and Hungary, and more recently Austria, Czechia, and Slovakia. This region represents one of the most fertile agricultural landscapes and is famous for its wine production.

The original habitats include riparian forests, wet meadows in the floodplains of Thaya, Svratka, Svitava, and Jihlava rivers, as well as limestone rock steppe, forest-steppe, and thermophilic oak forest. Moreover, man-made wetlands such as fishponds created in the Middle Ages and water reservoirs created in the 1970s – 1990s replaced original habitats.