Operating Principles

1. Introduction

General guidelines on the responsibilities and operation of Specialist Groups are set out on the SSC website, and more details are given in the Terms of Reference issued to all Specialist Group Chairs in May 2000.

Because the PSG operates with the authority of three parent bodies, agreements have been set up to clarify responsibilities.

A Memorandum of Understanding (23.01.97) between SSC and BirdLife gives BirdLife global authority on the conservation status of birds, and consequent responsibility for maintaining the Red List of threatened bird species, in collaboration with all bird SGs and its world wide partnership.

Another Memorandum of Understanding (14.09.00) between SSC and WPA acknowledges WPA's lead role in Galliformes species conservation and recognises the five Galliformes SGs as the primary source of information on the conservation status of these birds. It delegates day-to-day management of these SGs to WPA, but requires the appointment of their Chairs to be agreed jointly between SSC, BirdLife and WPA. WPA is expected to assist the SGs in the implementation of the priority projects identified in their Action Plans, and in the revision of the Action Plans every five years. SSC is expected to ensure publication of new Action Plan editions in the IUCN series, sharing the publication rights with WPA.

2. The Chair

Under IUCN regulations all SG Chairs are periodically appointed (or re-appointed) by the Chair of SSC. Invitations to individuals are sent out after the dissolution of the whole SSC at each IUCN World Conservation Congress. These meetings recur every 3-4 years, the last one taking place in October 2000 at Amman in Jordan. The above Memorandum of Understanding between SSC and WPA implies that (i) WPA has responsibility for the day-to-day management of the PSG, and (ii) the PSG Chair's appointment (or re-appointment) should be approved by WPA, SSC and BirdLife International. Thus, at least 6 months before any IUCN World Conservation Congress, WPA will take the lead in seeking opinions from PSG members and others about the appointment (or re-appointment) of the Chair for the next 3-4 year period, and will then make a recommendation to SSC with the agreement of BirdLife International.

3. The Chair’s Advisory Committee

A UK-based Chair’s Advisory Committee will remain in existence for at least as long as the current Chair’s term of office. No term of office has been fixed for members, but they are free to resign when they please. New members may be invited to join by the Chair, in consultation with current CAC members, to either replace a resigning member or in response to changing needs.

The bi-annual issues of Tragopan are prepared in the period immediately following committee meetings, and cover the business of each meeting through the Chair's contributions, project reports and other news. The formal minutes of meetings go only to its members, plus key contacts in SSC, BirdLife, WPA, and Galliformes Taxon Advisory Groups (GalliTAGs) constituted under the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) and the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA).

4. The Membership

Each SG Chair is empowered by the SSC Chair to appoint and remove members from his/her SG. All members of all SGs are also members of SSC, a global volunteer network currently numbering more than 7,000 people. Neither SSC nor the SGs can afford to support inactive members. Thus the policy within the PSG is for the Chair to invite anyone who is involved in work relating to the conservation of pheasants and their habitats to join, and for existing members who cease to focus their attention on any such activity to be removed from the list. The Chair will discuss all proposed additions to and removals from the membership list with the CAC. The CAC will also review any case brought to its notice of apparent misrepresentation of the PSG by any member, and may then request the Chair to expel him/her.

5. PSG Officers

Each SG Chair is also charged by SSC with responsibility for the governance and organisation of his/her SG, including the appointment of any officers. In the PSG these appointments have no fixed term, but officers are free to resign at any time (although normally giving 6 months notice). From time to time and with the agreement of the CAC and others concerned, the Chair may negotiate the replacement of an officer with a new volunteer. The CAC will be responsible for reviewing any case of apparent misrepresentation or under-performance by an officer, and might then request the Chair to remove him/her from office.

Alongside all existing members, volunteers who have not previously been members of the PSG are be eligible for appointment. The following offices are filled by invitation from the Chair, with the agreement of the CAC:

• Webmaster
• Editor of Tragopan
• Membership Officer (to maintain postal and email address lists of members and recipients of Tragopan)
• Pheasant Records Officers (to log all known sightings, with dates, locations and observers’ names and contact details, each officer acting for a different country or region)
• Literature Database Officers (to maintain a literature citation database and provide the membership with details of all recent publications on pheasant conservation by email and/or via Tragopan)
• Action Plan Editors (to be appointed in time to start work in early 2004 on the 2005-09 edition)
• WPA Conservation Breeding Advisory Committee Representative
• AZA and EAZA GalliTAG Representatives
• CITES, Traffic and IUCN Trade Program Representatives
• Sustainable Use SG Representative
• Conservation Breeding SG Representative
• Re-introduction SG Representative

6. Financial arrangements

The PSG currently operates by using three accounts:

1. A Tragopan production account into which all subscription income is paid. Tragopan is free to all PSG members, although some choose to make a periodic donation equivalent to or greater than the subscription. Many people in Asian countries rich in pheasants receive Tragopan free of charge at the discretion of the Chair. Others world wide pay a subscription, either annually as a surcharge to their WPA membership fee, or directly and normally for three years at a time. This account is used to pay for the cost of artwork for and printing of Tragopan. Postal charges are covered by the present Chair’s institution, which also holds this account.
2. A core costs account which holds an annual donation from WPA. This is operated by the WPA Administrator and is used at the discretion of the Chair to pay for some of the necessary expenses incurred by the Chair and CAC members in attending their own and other meetings.
3. A project grants account into which any donations made specifically to cover the costs of running PSG-endorsed projects are paid. This account is also operated by the WPA Administrator under instructions from the Chair. WPA’s status as a registered charity in UK then allows Gift Aid (a tax concession) to be claimed and added to the sum donated. The value of grants awarded to projects is agreed by the Chair with the donor(s) and the CAC.

Peter Garson, PSG Chair 11 April 2002