Meet the team​

West Pannonian population in Central Europe was close to extinction in 1996 (129 individuals) and in 1999 Dr. Raab started to coordinate the conservation project for Great Bustard in Central Europe. Since that time one of the smallest populations in the world increased to an important population with more than 700 individuals (728 in January 2025). In contrast, both the global and European Great Bustard populations have declined by over 30% in just 11 years. Thanks to conservation efforts such as habitat management, reduction of the risk of collision with power lines and cooperation with farmers and hunters, the Great Bustard populations in Austria and Hungary and the entire Pannonian region increased.

Over the past 20 years, approximately 241 km of medium voltage power lines were first placed into the ground and then the overhead power lines and pylons were removed, 154 km in Austria and 87 km in Hungary. Additionally, 179 km of high-voltage power lines have been marked in the Pannonian region (160 km in the West-Pannonian and 17 km in the East-Pannonian regions) to improve their visibility.

In the last 20 years, no new overhead power lines have been built in the Austrian Great Bustard areas. Additionally, a new 110 kV power line has been buried underground in the Bustard area in Burgenland, Austria. Due to successfully implemented conservation projects, the West Pannonian Great Bustard population boasts the highest bustard density worldwide (590 Individuals / 324 km²). Nowadays, nearly all new medium voltage power lines in Lower Austria and Burgenland are buried underground.

With more than 3,300 individuals we have more than 90% of all tagged Red Kites in one database. Thanks to the LIFE EUROKITE Project coordinated by TB Raab, the Red Kite is now the most tagged animal species with high-quality GPS-GSM loggers. This means that we reached the world record. In total, we have more than 1 billion one-second data in our database.

Bustards Without Borders is a consortium of individuals, organizations, government institutions and other stakeholders with established expertise and commitment to sustainable bustard conservation. Members work together to share best practices, coordinate and advance the conservation of all bustard species across their ranges on four continents.  

BWB is dedicated to catalyzing actions for the sustainable conservation of bustards and their habitats, to include on-the-ground conservation activities, training, awareness, population monitoring and research as will be outlined in the Multi-species Action Plan to conserve African, Eurasian and Australian Bustards. In July 2025, CMS sent our first MsAP Draft to 104 Range States to give feedback.

In 2023, TB Raab GmbH was entrusted by the Burgenland Provincial Government to develop the management plan for the European protected area “Parndorfer Platte – Heideboden”. The project focused on assessing the current status of protected bird species, defining clear conservation targets, and outlining practical measures to reach them. The resulting plan now serves as a key tool for targeted nature conservation, sustainable land-use planning, and informed project evaluation in this vital cross-border habitat.

Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the conservation and management of the Central European population of the Great Bustard

Bases on the work on the management plan for the European protected area Parndorfer Platte – Heideboden” the TB Raab continuous with the work on management plans, but this time on a management plan for the three-border region of Austria, Hungary and Slovakia. The work is based on the Declaration on the long-term conservation of the Great Bustard in the tri-border region and its surroundings, which was signed by the representatives of these three countries during the MoU 2023 in Bratislava, Slovakia. By this act they committed together to protect and improve natural conditions for better life of the Bustard, to increase its population status through monitoring and research and, last but not least, to afford one another immediate cooperation in sharing information on the current support provided to farmers under the EU Common Agricultural Policy.