Europe's most ambitious bird project launched

BirdLife International has launched a project to radically improve the conservation of 16 charismatic European bird species across 10 countries.

The new EU-funded project will aim to tackle the severe threats that represent a danger for the conservation of a number of iconic birds. 'LIFE Euro SAP' will run for 3 years, involving 13 partners, covering a total of 16 species. The Vulture Conservation Foundation (VCF) and the hunters' association FACE will also participate and contribute.

The project will develop new Species Action Plans (SAPs) for 2 species defined as Threatened in the latest IUCN Red List Assessment and thus in urgent neeed of attention — Yelkouan Shearwater and Monteiro's Storm-petrel. It will also review and update existing SAPs for six bird species with continuous population declines: Velvet Scoter, White-headed Duck, Black and Bearded Vultures, Dalmatian Pelican and European Turtle Dove. It will also develop and pilot a Multi Species Action Plan for the major European lowland grassland breeding waders: Oystercatcher, Northern Lapwing, 'Baltic' Dunlin, Ruff, Common Snipe, Eurasian Curlew, Black-tailed Godwit and Common Redshank.

Dalmatian Pelican, Greece (Photo: Steve Whiteley)

Iván Ramírez, Head of Conservation for Europe and Central Asia, stated: "[This] marks the beginning of a new era for bird conservation in Europe. We are tackling bird conservation at a truly continental scale, [and] creating a wide partnership that will work together to better protect our species, our activities and the wider biodiversity of our region."

SAPs summarise the status of, ecology of and threats to bird species, and are used by the European Commission to undertake the key actions required to improve their conservation status in Europe. This revision is more than urgent as several species benefiting from SAPs have seen their conservation status deteriorate recently.

The current conservation measures for the six species being revised are not fit for purpose and the species' populations are in continuous declines. The project will study the birds' entire life-cycle, covering entire migratory routes, and will analyse threats and define better-adapted conservation actions.