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ANNOUNCEMENTS
SEBASTIAN WINKLER SUCCEEDS TAMÁS MARGHESCU AS CIC DIRECTOR GENERAL
Tamás Marghescu has stepped down from the role of CIC Director General after a tenure of twelve years in the position. He is succeeded by Sebastian Winkler, who was hired as the Deputy Director General in April, 2022.
Arno Wimpffen will also be joining the leadership team alongside Sebastian as Deputy Director General having worked for the CIC as a consultant since spring of this year. Since being appointed as Director General in 2010, Tamás has helped grow the CIC into an organisation which is widely regarded as a leading figure on issues related to hunting, conservation and sustainable use.
Under his leadership, the CIC has successfully pursued a number of key projects and initiatives. This includes the establishment of the Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management (CPW), the creation of the 1 Euro per Hunter program and negotiating diplomatic status for the CIC within Hungary.
Tamás will continue to work with the CIC parttime as an Ambassador, where he will be engaging in political work in Brussels while collaborating closely with FACE, as well as resource mobilisation activities to fund the many tasks lying ahead for the CIC.
As the newly appointed Director General, Sebastian Winkler spoke about his role, and the future of the CIC going forwards:
“I would like to thank our President, Philipp Harmer, and our outgoing Director General, Tamás Marghescu, for the excellent support and advice given to me during the past seven months of onboarding.
I am a firm believer in building on what my predecessors have accomplished. My arrival coincides with several developments, key among them our newly adopted Statutes and the launch of the Club 200 fundraising initiative.
I look forward to leading the CIC on these projects and other initiatives that will further position the CIC as a truly international organisation equipped for the 21st century.”
The CIC team extends its thanks to Tamás for his many years of dedicated service, and looks forward to starting a new journey under the leadership of both Sebastian and Arno.
“I take pleasure in handing over my responsibilities to my successor, Sebastian Winkler, whom I had the privilege to propose for recruitment after a fair and transparent selection process.
I have known Sebastian for many years and we even worked with each other during my time at IUCN. With all confidence, I can say that he is guaranteed to continue developing the CIC on its path towards becoming an even more respected global conservation organisation.
I am indebted to my staff and the extended CIC network for their work in supporting wildlife, people and our passion for hunting.” - Tamás Marghescu
The European Parliament has moved to protect farmers’ rights and hunting as a management tool following the adoption of a joint resolution on the protection of livestock farming and large carnivores in Europe.
The resolution may lead to a change in the strictly protected status of European large carnivores, due to a request from the Parliament to implement Article 16 of the Habitats Directive. According to the Directive, species can move to a different annex (protected status) given that there is the appropriate “technical and scientific progress.”
While there is still work to be done ahead, the news is most definitely a positive step forwards for rural stakeholders across Europe.
As part of the deliberations, MEPs also reaffirmed the importance of hunting as a management tool, with the majority of voters rejecting calls to dismiss the practice as a tool within the framework of the Habitats Directive. Hunters have always played a critical role in managing large carnivore populations. Many have been calling in recent years for changes to the European listings of large carnivores, due to the problems they generate in numerous Member States. Wolves in particular have been subject to much discussion in this regard, due to an increase in their populations and range in Europe.
It is hoped that the joint resolution will lead to real change at both the European and national levels, with wildlife, conservation and livelihoods standing as the benefactors.
For more information, please refer to this report on the matter by the European Federation for Hunting and Conservation (FACE).
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
CIC Young Opinion Research Award 2023
Introduction: The CIC is a global non-profit inter-governmental organization aiming to conserve wildlife through its sustainable use. The Young Opinion working group of the CIC focuses on creating a global network of young scientists under the age of 35, who believe in the values which the CIC is advocating.
Objective: The CIC Young Opinion Research Award is aimed at supporting researchers whose projects contribute to the sustainable use of wildlife for the benefit of natural heritage conservation. Thereby, the goal of the Young Opinion Research Award is to promote scientific research in accordance with the spirit of CIC's convictions. Such research may cover any or all of the three main pillars of sustainable wildlife management: economic, socio-cultural, ecological.
Participants are required to send a summary of their research project, explaining the aim, methods and conclusions of the project.
The jury, a committee of CIC experts, will determine the winner, who will be rewarded with an invitation to participate at the next General Assembly in Paris, France (end of April 2023) and a publication in the next Young Opinion Newsletter. The winners gain the opportunity to present their projects and get in contact with key representatives and experts in the field of sustainable wildlife management. The prize covers the registration fee, accommodation and reasonable preapproved travel expenses. The deadline for application is January 31st 2023. The results will be announced by early March 2023.
Requirements: Students of Bachelor, Masters or Doctoral programs under 35 years of age are eligible to apply.
The summary should meet the following criteria:
Cover the research topics dealing with sustainable wildlife management based on one or more of three approaches – economic, socio-cultural, ecological (topic examples: ethics, politics, or history of hunting; wildlife management measures from habitat improvements to harvest strategies) Maximum length is 3600 characters/two pages Working language – English
Please send your submissions to cic-yo@cic-wildlife.org with the subject CIC Young Opinion
Research Award 2023
