Ali Notizie - The English Digest - June 2006

Editorial June 2006

See Naples and die...

It was a great pleasure to be invited to the Annual Assembly as a guest of LIPU in May of this year. The congress and annual meeting were held on the island of Ischia in the bay of Naples as reported in the last Ali. After a six hour journey on Eurostar from Parma to Naples (for a cost of €30 each, single fare, GNER please note) we were given an insight to the phrase, “See Naples and die” by a taxi driver who even our hosts described as “crazy”. He had a speciality which involved racing ahead on the wrong side of the road until faced with a tram; now, trams are not renowned for their ability or willingness to serve out of the way and the next few seconds were exciting to say the least!

The ferry was calm and tranquil after that and it was to take us to what we hope will be seen as a real turning point for LIPU in Italy.

As I’m sure you know, Silvio Berlusconi lost the recent election and, albeit with rather poor grace, is now in opposition to the new centre-left government of Romano Prodi. We must hope that his coalition can weather the storms ahead because it offers real hope to those who care about nature and the environment.

Romano Prodi’s choice of Environment Minister was going to be critical in showing whether he really cared about the subject or was going to treat it as one of the less important items on his political agenda. It took him just a short time to offer the post to the president of the Green Party, Sgr Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio, who served with distinction in a previous government as Minister for Agriculture.

It was a coincidence that on the Friday of our congress the new government was gathered in Rome to swear in the newly appointed ministers and the ceremony was expected to finish by lunch time. On Ischia the phones started to ring late in the morning and just before lunch it was confirmed that all was settled in Rome and that Sgr Pecoraro Scanio had decided to travel straight to our island and address the LIPU assembly as his first official engagement.

The minister spoke for almost forty minutes, without notes, and was applauded many times for what he was saying; it was clear that he was in tune with his audience and was being more direct and clear in his comments than many a politician ever is! Lest that comment seem too cynical, there was a press announcement that very day which said that the Messina Bridge project is effectively dead. This day was also the one when I met someone even more doubtful and cynical about politicians than I; I asked Claudio Celada, LIPU Conservation Director what he thought of the minister’s speech and he said, “David , first, he is a politician. But, second, what he said was good.”

Other speakers left us with similar grounds for optimism; the head of the Forest Guards reaffirmed his commitment to protecting wildlife and the senior officer in charge of the Naples Carabinieri Environment department spoke about the modern problem of illegal habitat destruction by waste dumping. This problem is linked with the Camorra which sees these actvities as a way of making a lot of money, but, the officer said as the projector showed a picture of two pathetic blinded finches, this is every bit as important - and applause rang around the hall.

Where does all this leave us? Words are easy, promises are cheap and we all know that what matters is action to improve the lot of wild animals and birds in Italy. This gathering left me with higher hopes than for many years, I hope I am not to be disappointed.

The President’s Column

Countdown... 2010!

Giuliano Tallone LIPU President

Europe’s great challenge: halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010. Governments committed themselves to changing their policies to achieve this six years ago at Gothenburg.

I remember that when I was still an inquisitive preadolescent at secondary school, in the late 70s, I found some books on a shelf at home which attracted my attention. In particular a marvellous encyclopaedia about animals fired my passion for mammals and birds, as happened with many the same age as me.

My amazement was boundless when I saw that in the first three volumes of “Living Nature” (I think that was the title) there were illustrations of tens, hundreds, thousands of species of felines, monkeys, antelopes, mice, birds of paradise, eagles, chaffinches and so on and so forth. For me the word biodiversity – which I discovered many years later – described an almost natural, self-explanatory concept, since those hundreds of pages I looked through illustrated for me the adventures I had read in Salgari’s books with characters I felt I knew so well who lived in tropical countries and forests. Reading and wondering in the afternoons at the kitchen table at home, a precious geographical atlas gave me significant extra information, and I leafed through it to find the places where the rare species I loved so much lived. In particular I remember the time spent looking for the magical island of Madagascar, which I had discovered to be the original habitat of the wonderful lemurs which I saw in a photo, and in particular of the mysterious Aye-Aye, the smallest of these, whose existence seemed to me to be a miracle. In that atlas I was amazed to discover enormous tracts of forests in faraway countries like Brazil or Borneo. Borneo in particular aroused my interest since I used to read the descriptions of the adventures of Sandokan and company, and I took it for granted that one not too distant day I would visit it, swinging on lianas through the trees. I must mention the immense South American jungle, crossed by the legendary Trans-Amazonian highway whose marvels I used to read about in comics which enabled me to experience astoundingly beautiful, wild areas of nature. Papua New Guinea also amazed me, because it was one of the few corners of the world in which my maps had a caption which seemed incredible to me: ‘Unexplored territory’.

Since then much has changed. In only thirty years not only have the last unknown corners of the Earth been explored in the utmost detail, but above all those immense areas, unending forests, wide expanses of nature previously inaccessible to humans have been carved up, burnt, excavated, crossed by roads, cultivated, and built on. Like a global termite mound people have extended their range in order to search for new resources for an ever growing population ever more eager for food, energy and water. The consequences for biodiversity, obviously, have quickly made themselves felt and today many animal and plant species, and even entire ecosystems, are on the brink of disappearing for ever.

This is why the European states, aware of their responsibility and their role, have decided to give themselves a formal objective for the next few, probably the most important, years, to try if not to reverse the tendency, at least to limit the damage to biodiversity. This objective, the subject of a commitment agreed by all the governments at Gothenberg in 2000, has been called “Countdown 2010”, to emphasise the urgency as we face up to the final loss of the treasure that nature represents. The objective is incredibly ambitious: to halt the loss of biodiversity by such a date. The framework of this programme and the actions which constitute it in European policies (the carrying out of the Directive on Habitats and Birds and the introduction of the Nature Network 2000) are also important reference points for us and we shall do everything possible to make sure that they are achieved.

OBJECTIVE: BIODERVISITY!

by Giuliano Tallone

LIPU President

It is conservation’s great wager to be won by 2010. A task taken up by the EU and Italy, which must be translated into concrete actions and a new political concept.

To halt the decline in biodiversity by 2010, that is the task taken up in 2000 by the EU states at the Gothenburg summit. More recently the UICN (International Union for Nature Conservation) launched Countdown 2010, while on June 13th last, the Government announced Italy’s adherence to the agenda of the first meeting of the “Ad hoc working group on protected areas” of the Convention on Biodiversity, taken up at Rio in 1992. The objective of Countdown 2010 is fundamental: a startling number of animal and plant species, as well as natural habitats, is now at risk. Only swift action and an inclusive strategy to protect biodiversity on a national and global scale will suffice. It is essential to increase the capabilities of the “System for the Land of Italy” on the factors which menace biodiversity, with the growth of a new generation of experts in that field who will make of Italy a world-class centre of excellence in conservation terms.

The task is for today

Problems of climate, the politics of energy, the decline in living species and their habitats and the continuing loss of biodiversity , these are the great themes linked to agriculture and its ecological outcomes. They are questions of global reach, their impact on human society involves everyone in a vital task, not to be put off for a moment. We must face up to them here and now, and putting them at the top of our agendas to come up with effective answers. We must abandon the logic which considers such issues as being a mere nuance to policy, or a minor sector to be filed with the wish list, but rather to expand their reach in a national and international strategy, as well as maintaining a close connection with fields of great importance for the economy and employment, as with the templates of scientific research and its application in, say, agriculture medicine and pharmaceuticals, and land management. In this sense, the work of the next Italian Government will be vital. On one hand there will be of necessity a change in the direction of policies affecting the environment, which it must be said had too often a negative impact under the previous administration. Above all, and on the other hand, the new government’s term of office will fall exactly into the crucial period leading to Countdown 2010, thus having the clear responsibility to reach this vital objective through a decisive change of gear in environmental policy and in its integration with other sectors, from agriculture and industry to infrastructure, transport and so on.

Politics for man and nature

Forty years on, the work of LIPU, with its 40,000 members and supporters, with tens of thousands of friends and sympathisers, along with a hundred partners worldwide in BirdLife International, has resulted in the promotion of the idea that human politics should make due allowance for nature, integrating and harmonising themselves with it. The notion that environmental politics (for nature in particular) are not in fact of the second tier, that good environmental policies are moreover so much more provident, convenient and rational is something that Government can make reality. Consider for example that the risk of landslides is reduced by a continuous forest cover, and how water courses in their natural state alleviate the disastrous effects of floods. One only has to think how much poison we citizens ingest, as long as we see the activity preserved of hunting with lead shot in our country’s wetlands. Then there is the danger of avian flu, which in reality comes from man’s actions in violent contradiction of nature and its most basic necessities. It is thus an erroneous assumption that conservation is an obstacle or indeed a contradiction in respect of the needs for growth and well-being in human society. True and lasting well-being is that of an intelligent society that understands the present but can also look to the future, arising from a greater harmony with nature and an ecological project in the fullest and widest sense of the term.

The time for decisions

It is these ideas which inspire our proposals and which must have a real influence on the Italian Government in the highly delicate and fundamental challenges that the next legislature faces. The defence of birds, themselves sensitive biological indicators, of wild animals, of habitats and biodiversity as a whole; the enforcement of EU directives and international conventions with regard to nature and the environment; full recognition of Natura 2000; respect for and a reinstatement of protected areas and their essential mission; the promotion of a sound and ecologically orientated agriculture; the transformation of our cities into places of beauty, peaceful and life-sustaining, for us and for other living things. These are important, seemingly simple proposals, which in our view could not exist in any other form. Propositions which if acted upon will allow our country to reach the 2010 target, and contribute greatly to meeting the fundamental challenge that is the salvation of biodiversity.

Natura 2000 and Biodiversity

The network of Natura 2000 takes in the most important European areas for the protection of biodiversity, and is thus the most important conservation instrument in the ambit of the EU. Based on the Habitats and Birds Directives the network comsists of Zones of Special Protection (ZPS) for bird conservation, and Sites of Community Interest (SIC) for the preservation of flora, fauna and natural habitats. Via the IBA project, LIPU and BirdLife have identified the main European sites for the protection of birds, progressively bringing them into the network under the aegis of the ZPS system, on which subject Italy, it has to be said, is currently facing action for its failure to designate enough of the Zones. The task for LIPU is to support the Ministry for the Environment and Land Protection, as well as the various Regions, in the work of completing the network, so vital for Countdown 2010.

The role of protected areas for biodiversity

Protected areas have played a historic role in the protection of nature, the environment and the countryside. They have been fundamental in implementing projects to defend biodiversity, as has been recognised by the CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity) and by the Programme of Work on Protected Areas in Kuala Lumpur (2004), and the succeeding international conference at Montecatini in 2005. Of great importance is the implicitness, in the planning and management policies of protected areas, of those scientific, ecological and biological principles that are decisive in guaranteeing the most effective processes for protecting nature. However, protected areas are currently being subjected to serious problems. There needs to be a renewed push to focus tightly on nature conservation and biodiversity, issues that have sometimes become merely secondary considerations. The Government should take steps with regard to protected areas to ensure that there is more effective protection, better integration into land planning programmes and the updating of conservation and educational projects.

LIPU requests that the new Italian Government publicly reaffirms its membership of Countdown 2010 and support for its objectives, by means of the national plan for the conservation and the sustainable use of biological diversity as provided for in article 6 of the Rio Convention, and that this be adequately funded.

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TOURISM AGAINST ILLEGAL POACHING

Using the natural resources of Sulcis(Cagliari) in the fight against illegal hunting of birds

by Andrea Mazza

LIPU has recently opened a new and important front in the battle against the illegal hunting of birds in the southern part of the Sulcis area in the province of Cagliari. For the last two years a group of volunteers from both LIPU and LAC (League for the Abolition of Hunting) has organised an anti-poaching camp which has alr eady resulted in a substantial number of reports and seizures. Every year hundreds of hunters lay thousands of traps in the woods to capture thrushes and robins which they sell on to butchers and to local restaurants. This illegal and barbaric practice is well-rooted, and has become an additional source of income for a large part of the local population. Last autumn the volunteers removed 15 thousand deadly traps and 180 fixed nets set for the capture of small birds, as well as hundreds of snares and steel cables set to trap deer, wildcat and boar. The situation with illegal poaching, particularly that of birds, in this area, is so worrying that it is considered to be a national emergency. LIPU has raised the alarm in the media, and reported to the Sardinian Regional Council on the lack of effective surveillance and counter-measures, especially on the part of the regional Forest Guard.

Interview

We talk to Giovanni Malara

Giovanni Malara, why is it that after so many years protecting raptors in the Straits of Messina, you chose to organise a new anti-poaching camp in Sardinia?

We decided to combine our forces to give greater weight to our actions, increase substantially the number of volunteers, and achieve better results in a shorter time. We have no doubt that we can achieve great things in Sardinia, just as we have done in the Straits of Messina.

What difficulties did you encounter in this area?

For many families the hunting of birds is both a traditional activity and an illegal source of income, especially in the area around Capoterra (province of Cagliari). For this reason such a crime is not vigorously prosvecuted compared with other forms of poaching. This is not just our own observation, it is also confirmed by the words of Mario Boni, Head of the Forest Guard of Sardinia, given in an interview to the paper Unione Sarda – words that provoked an immediate outrage in us.

What are your relations with the local population like?

The poachers are many, but they are still a small minority. Our aim is to make them understand that the local economy cannot be based on illegal practices. We are convinced that it is necessary to put a firm stop to all illegal practices, without making distinctions. It is necessary to offer alternative, legal occupations, based on the best use of natural resources and the natural beauty of Sulcis.

How could this be achieved?

Look at what has happened in neighbouring Pula; here, firm action on the part of the Forest Guard, and a local boom in tourism have been enough to cause illegal bird poaching to disappear over the last few years. We need to do exactly the same in Sulcis: to make the most of the extraordinary natural resources of the area (I’m thinking of the pools of Cagliari, the Monte Arcosu WWF reserve, the Mining Parks, the LIPU reserve of Carloforte), to establish a tourist circuit which will help create “clean” jobs. This could be achieved, but it requires commitment on the part of the Province of Cagliari and the Region of Sardinia. For our part we are going to concentrate our efforts in the schools of Capoterra, to promote an awareness of nature and nature conservation, and to strengthen the local group in their work for these aims.

What are the characteristics that a volunteer must have in order to participate in these camps?

There are no special requirements. What is needed is a great love for nature and animals, strength and courage. It is tiring work, and not without risks, as is always the case when fighting illegal activity. However this is an extraordinary environment; the largest forest of mediterranean maquis in Europe, and the beauty of the place compensates for the sacrifices. Above all, when you can give freedom back to a small bird that is still alive, such as a robin, you have strong feelings that you will never forget.

What do the local and regional institutions need to do in order to help LIPU solve this long-standing problem?

We have asked the President of the Regional Council and the regional Environment Councillor to give clear directions to the Forest Guard to stop the snaring of birds at Capoterra and the netting at Sette Fratelli. We will ask the new Minister of Agriculture to deploy the Anti-Poaching Squad in Sardinia, because if the Sardinian Forest Guard cannot succeed on their own, it is only fair that they receive help, as happened in both Brescia and Calabria on the Straits of Messina.

The Sardinian Camp 2005 statistics:

LAC camp from 29 October to 5 November

LIPU volunteers 10

Traps removed 7,000

Fixed nets removed 120

Steel-cabled mammal traps 100

LIPU camp from 3 to 10 December

LIPU volunteers 16

Traps removed 10,000

Fixed nets removed 42

Steel-cabled mammal traps 50

The next camps are scheduled for autumn/winter 2006. For information please telephone +39 329 4228623

Giovanni Malara

Born in Gioiosa Ionica (Reggio Calabria), Giovanni Malara has a degree in Law. A LIPU member since 1977, he has worked as Regional Coordinator and National Councillor. Since 1983 he has been campaigning against the massacre of migratory raptors on the Calabrian side of the Straits of Messina, where he founded the international anti-poaching camp. Co-author of numerous scientific papers on the importance of the migratory route of raptors in the central Mediterranean, he has conducted important investigations over the last ten years, together with other LIPU members from Reggio Calabria, into environmental lawlessness, culminating in the cancellation of the two most important eco-monstrosities in Calabria - the tourist villages of Capo Bruzzano and Punta Pellaro. He is in charge of the LIPU camp against bird poaching in southern Sulcis in the province of Cagliari.

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WIND ENERGY

Wind energy is clean but not without a cost. What is the environmental impact of its contribution to energy needs? The debate on wind-generated energy is still open.

by Stefano Allavena, Head of Italian State Forest Guard

Wind is a source of clean, renewable but unpredictable energy. It is necessary to understand how it works before forming an opinion on it. It certainly is an intermittent energy source, since it is dependent on the vagaries of the winds, and so far no way of storing it has been found, and therefore it needs to be used immediately after production. This means that wind turbines have to be connected directly to the electricity distribution network. In order to avoid blackouts, due to the unreliability of energy produced this way, there is a “technical limit”. This condition, for safety reasons, is between 10-15 % of the maximum power at its peak (when there is the most demand for energy). In 2003 the hypothetical limit for power generated by wind turbines connected to the national electric network was around 8,000 megawatts, which would have represented about 4.8% of the annual demand for electricity. In order to achieve this figure, taking into account the size of the new wind turbines, it is possible to hypothesise that 5-6,000 new turbines would have to be built, in addition to the 2,000 already existing. If one considers that wind energy constitutes only 1.6% of the whole national electricity need, which itself represents 35% of the total energy needs in Italy, it is possible to see how irrelevant this source of energy is, especially considering that the annual increase in demand for energy is higher than 1.6%. The same conclusions can be reached when one calculates the savings on greenhouse gases that the hypothetical 8,000 MW generated by wind turbines could achieve. These savings are equal to no more than 2% of the total carbon dioxide produced.

Danger to the habitats

Several of the new proposed projects involving wind energy do not take into account those conservation principles developed in the last few decades in Italy and Europe; in particular those norms that safeguard sites of importance at community level, and protected areas in general. Wind turbines and their infrastructures have a strong impact on the ecosystem, its animals, and plants. Wind turbines constitute a serious and immediate danger for migrating and sedentary birds of prey, and other birds. Furthermore, a 95% decrease in nesting species has been recorded in an area of 500-metre radius around the wind farm. It is therefore essential to be careful to build wind farms in areas that are not important for their environment and landscape. It is also paramount that the new government should be committed to following good practices in the whole country. Many areas in the south of Italy have already been permanently damaged by the loss of endangered animals such as the Red Kite.

The threatened zones

In Italy, it is worrying that numerous projects involving wind farms in environmentally important areas are under consideration. Examples of such projects are Monti della Tolfa, an area near Rome, which is one of the most important sites for many raptors, and the Apennine mountains between Liguria and Calabria (North-South), which are places where many protected bird species are found. Other projects involving migratory routes are also worrying: the one involving the Nebrodi Mountains in Sicily, and the “Catena della Serra Lunga” in Abruzzo (central Italy) are two examples. Projects involving wind farms in national and regional parks, nature reserves, Special Protection Zones (ZPS) and Important Bird Areas (IBA), like Sirente Velino Regional Park, Pollino and the Aspromonte Parks, and the new Murgia National Park have been suggested. In reality, all agricultural areas that still hold some conservation significance or landscape interest are threatened by hundreds of industrial wind farms planned on a large scale. Such turbines are more than 100 metres in height, and 80 metres or more in diameter, rotating at a peak speed of 300 Km/h (c180 mph).

Correct the route - The position of LIPU.

The position of LIPU on wind farms has to be integrated into its goal of promoting renewable energy resources that are in harmony with nature and bird conservation. The doubts expressed by LIPU are not directed to wind energy per se, but rather to the development of uncontrolled wind energy production, which in Italy often takes place without rules or precise planning. Wind energy is a theme that that has three prongs:

If developed with a sensible, integrated, and comprehensive strategy, where intelligent planning is a priority, wind energy can represent a dramatic contribution to climate change with all the consequences that this entails. If precise planning is not followed, wind energy will develop into a jungle, with no rewards and high costs to the environment. In order to avoid this, LIPU is working with other BirdLife International partners to produce guidelines for the development of wind energy farming, for European institutions but also for Italian administrations and industries. Changing wind-farming routes to save migratory ones (together with habitats and landscapes): with this simple concept it is possible to sum up LIPU’s position on the subject.

RESERVES AND CENTRES

Not just a place but a state of mind: LIPU’s “Oases”

Created to protect our coasts, woods and marshes, they have become over the years places where nature offers itself to our eyes and hearts.

by Ugo Faralli, Head of Reserves and Refuges

Looking for the chance to see a Purple Heron flying over a reedbed? You can - just by taking a stroll on the new boardwalk at Massaciuccoli. Would you like to wake up to the cries of Eleonora’s Falcon? It is not just a dream in the little guest house at the base-camp of Carloforte. How about watching a Kingfisher dive? Nothing could be easier from the underwater hide at Crava Morozzo. And playing with the children as they learn about nature? You can in the classroom of Cesano Maderno. Fancy a stroll through the colourful world of the butterflies? Then, it’s the butterfly house at Casacalenda that you want.

Massaciuccoli, Carloforte, Crava Morozzo, Cesano Maderno and Casacalenda have something in common: they are all Oases run by LIPU, and equipped to experience and promote knowledge of the natural world through contact with its myriad species of plant and animal life. The concept of environmental education has always been an integral part of the philosophy of LIPU in its planning and management of the “Oases” and Reserves.

We have always said, with complete conviction, that our protected areas have a fundamental purpose as far as LIPU is concerned: to safeguard the sites and protect the animal and plant species to be found therein with a special concern for the birds. We have been saying this same thing since the end of the 1980s to all the local authorities and their officials we have involved in the protection of marshes, coasts, woods and beaches from the Alps to Sicily; from Bittern to Lesser Kestrel. Therefore, as a logical consequence of our aims, and with an equally cultural theme aimed at the Local Authorities (and so at the people themselves), the Oases and reserves have been developed in such a way as to allow people to visit and above all to enter into direct contact with the natural world.

It’s an experience that has nothing like it in modern technology and knowing that to wander through the ponds of Brabbia or to watch the hundreds of ducks at Biviere di Gela in Sicily is something which fills us with a feeling like no other. We at LIPU have simply decided to share it with people with a view to create, encourage and make possible a real understanding of the need for the protection of nature and for the care of animals and plants.

This is why, in our Oases and Reserves, we are planning and putting into place car parks, visitor centres, teaching rooms, eco games rooms, paths and walkways, observation hides, viewing screens and towers. We are even putting in cycle tracks and paths for the disabled; butterfly houses and places to pond dip. We are planning and setting up education programmes with the schools, Nature Events and theme days for tourists, summer camps for children, boat trips, bird watching competitions and courses in wildlife art.

We are doing all these things for people. We would like our members, the real planners and workers in our LIPU Oases and Reserves, to take an ever greater part and to increase the number of our “homes”. The “homes” that we are building for Birds, for Nature…for People

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LIPU’s PROJECT

Eleonora’s Falcon Surprises

There are more in Italy than previously estimated: this is what has emerged from surveys by LIPU carried out on this beautiful migratory raptor.

By Marco Gustin, Head of Species and Research

Fascinating and important, the Eleonora’s Falcon is the only diurnal migratory raptor in the world that nests predominantly in the Mediterranean area. This area is composed of Italy, Spain and Greece with a few colonies on the Atlantic coasts of Morocco. This raptor winters mainly in Madagascar, on the Mascarene Islands, and to some extent in Tanzania.

The latest updates on the world nesting population suggest 5,900 pairs, 500-600 of which are present in Italy. For the first time LIPU has received from RSPB a request to carry out exhaustive research on the number of Eleonora’s Falcons present in Italy, as part of the Life Project “Conservation measures for Falco eleonorae”. Italy is certainly one of the most important countries in the Mediterranean zone for the survival of this species, due to the high number of nesting pairs. Therefore, as well as counting the number of breeding pairs and studying some of the individuals in more detail, LIPU has studied the main threats, in order to produce guidelines for a correct conservation of this species. In Sardinia, research projects were carried out at four breeding sites: Capo Monte Santo, San Pietro Island, Vacca Island, and Toro Island. Projects in Sicily were carried out in all the islands of the Eolie archipelagos: Salina, Panarea, Alicudi, Filicudi, Stromboli, and Vulcano, and the satellite islets, in the Pelagie islets, Lampedusa, and Lampione. As the colonies had different characteristics it was necessary to adopt different research methods. Fieldwork was carried out in Sardinia in August and September, in the Eolie Islands in August, on Lampedusa in September. Breeding success was ascertained in October. The number of pairs estimated in Italy in 2005 was between 638 and 704, of which 78% are found in Sardinia, and 22% in Sicily; this result underlines a higher consistency of the most recent estimates.

It is probable, however, that several factors, still to be comprehensively analysed, have an influence on the species during its breeding season. Many nesting sites, in particular the most important ones, have a high degree of disturbance from tourists, with possible habitat alteration. Furthermore, some studies have ascertained the possibility of accumulation of poisonous substances, ingested through insects and bird prey. Finally, on some islands rats constitute a limiting factor that is reflected in the reproductive success of the species.

ANOTHER SUMMER FOR NATURE

Camp at the LIPU Carloforte Reserve.

Surveillance of the breeding site for Eleonora’s Falcons.

20 July to 14 October

Volunteers will be engaged in research projects and the collection of data, with the assistance of scientific specialists, as well as surveillance of poaching activities and illegal taking of eggs. The cost will be 240 euros per week for lodging in a prefabricated building or 190 euros in tents, including all meals.

For full information contact Luciano Durante tel. 338.2776307

Camp at the LIPU Biviere di Gela Reserve

Work and Birdwatching Camp

22 September to 2 October

Volunteers will be engaged in minor maintenance work and birdwatching. There will be excursions into the surrounding area and recreational activities. The cost will be 170 euros per week (150 for LIPU members). There will be a maximum of 9 participants.

Information tel. 328.9176124 - 349.80612955,

or 0933/926051 - www.lipu.it -www.lipualcamo.it

Birdlife International

“Made in China”... but by Mother Nature

The natural and wild face of China and the promotion of birdwatching. An example of Italo-Chinese collaboration

by Marco Lambertini

When we think of China, what comes to mind is a vast and most populous country, a rapidly developing economy, and a thousand-year history which has endowed fantastic forms of art and culture. But there is another China, that of great mountains in the west, the Himalayas and Altai, of steppes and deserts on the northern border with Mongolia, of marshes at the confluence of great rivers, of the Taiga forests at the north-eastern border with Russia, of the tropical jungles of the south on the border with Indochina. There is an extraordinary dimension of a natural and wild China, with an extremely varied and rich biodiversity. With its 9.5 million square km, China is the eighth country of the world in terms of bird numbers, with 1,218 species, two-and-a-half times the European number of species. But the consequences of population density and very rapid economic development become apparent, like the recent polluting sand and dust storm which fell upon Beijing. China is also the fifth country of the world in number of bird species threatened with extinction: at least 83 species of wild birds are suffering from destruction of habitat, hunting and unsustainable industrial activity. Of these, 20 are in most serious danger of extinction in the next decades. Furthermore, another 42 species of birds, although still relatively abundant, suffer so rapid a decline that they will very soon be officially classified as “threatened with extinction” and be added to the “Red List” of Birdlife.

A great reserve of conservation

Among the most important forest areas for bird conservation in China are the mountains of Sichuan in the centre of the country, and in the Shangxi mountains, not far from Beijing, the Altai mountains and the Yunnan mountains further south, and the forests along the southern western and eastern Himalayas. Here is perhaps the centre of greatest diversity of pheasant species, some of which have such fantastic feathered tails and very showy coloured plumage. Then the subtropical forests such as those of the Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, luxuriant and very rich in species not only of birds, but including big cats! Moreover, the island of Taiwan, isolated and with a dozen endemic species, ample mountain forests and important coastal marshes, where 80% of the known population of the rare and threatened Blackfaced Spoonbill spend the winter, with their numbers happily increasing.

At the coast also, the confluences of the great rivers and the interior marshes are most important. Here live very rare and unique species, such as the only wild population of Crested Ibis and the entire wintering population of Oriental Stork, Siberian Crane and Swan Goose. Thought for decades to be extinct, with no observation since 1937, the Chinese Tern has been rediscovered nesting on the rocky little islands between Taiwan and mainland China, then observed also along the Chinese coast. A country of great ranges and still rich natural resources, but heavily affected by very rapid economic development: a great potential for conservation...

Chinese culture, in fact, has a strong connection to the natural world, in particular the extraordinary traditional use of wild flora and fauna for food and medicinal use, and widespread symbolic and spiritual value for many wild species. Birds are the element of the natural world of strongest recourse in the cultural symbolic and religious tradition of the Chinese people. From legends to pictorial art and religious symbolism, winged creatures dominate oriental culture in general and Chinese culture in particular. They are the recurring subject of the most beautiful vases, pictures, textiles, which so particularly distinguish the “Made in China” tradition.

China on the Po Delta

In parallel with economic development in China, not only have hundreds of new protected areas been established by the Government, but numerous citizen groups are developing for birdwatching. LIPU (partner of BirdLife International in Italy) and the Po Delta Birdwatching Fair have decided to contribute to the China Programme of BirdLife International, which supports these local groups in promoting birdwatching in China and exchanging experiences on how to spread birdwatching among the general public. The experience of BirdLife International and the Po Delta Bird Fair have been put at the disposal of Chinese birdwatching groups to support their activities. It is an example of Italo-Chinese collaboration in the cultural and environmental field, the first of its kind to concentrate on the promotion of birdwatching as recreation and the raising of awareness.

For further information on the ornithological value of China, visit www.birdlife.org

LIPU NEWS

LIPU Pedemontana Trevigiana

A new environmental education centre was opened by the LIPU Pedemontana Trevigiana Branch on 22 April, attended by many local dignitaries and members of the public. The Centre forms part of a restructuring of the railway station, which is still in use. It has strong links with the heronry at Pederobba and has become particularly valuable in improving an area that in the past has been rather degraded. The inauguration is a sign of the beginning of a new relationship between the local population and their environment. .

Purple Gallinule

A Purple Gallinule has been seen in the reedbeds at the Special Nature Reserve of the Lago di Pergusa, in the province of Enna. This first sighting there is important, as it is one born wild as part of the reintroduction project being run by INFS and LIPU in Sicily. It confirms the spread of the species, extinct in the region for the last 50 years, into colonising more wetlands and adapting well to new habitats.

Apennine Convention signed

The Convention aims to safeguard threatened animal and plant species by protecting the extraordinary heritage of the Apennine range. It was signed by National Councillor Maria Luisa Urban, representing the President of LIPU and by Fulco Pratesi, President of WWF. It is the Italian “magna carta” for the Mediterranean mountain regions. The protocol, involving 15 Regions, aims to ensure the protection of biodiversity along the Apennine range and Sicily, identifying the most important areas and the species most at risk, amongst which are the Brown Bear, the Apennine Hare, the Italian Roe Deer and numerous other bird and mammal species.

Raptor Migration camp at Marettimo, one of the Egadi islands

The camp will be from 30 September to 28 October in one week blocks. The activities, led by a group of ornithologists, will consist of observation and monitoring raptors on migration. There will be a maximum of 10 participants at a time. Groups will meet at the port of Trapani for embarkation on the boat at 15.00 hours on the first day of each weekly turn (30 September, 7, 14 e 21 October). The cost will be 230 euros for board and lodging. Information from:

Nino Provenza (ninoprovenza@tin.it) - LIPU, Ufficio Regionale Sicilia, tel. 091.320506. Details also at www.lipu.it, www.lipualcamo.it

Foce del Neto: “No to Europaradiso”

A huge tourist village development with luxury hotel, lakes, commercial centre, casino and golf course: a veritable environmental eyesore. The Commune of Crotone has given its approval to the project, named “Europaradiso”, without taking into account that the development would be within the protected area of the Foce del Fiume Neto (zona SIC, IBA e anche ZPS), one of the most important wetlands in Calabria. It has 188 species of birds, of which 79 are on the Red List, as well as being an important site for reptiles and amphibians. In 2000 the Foce del Fiume Neto was named to be made into a Regional Park. Against this proposal for such an unsustainable development are ranged LIPU and the Co-ordination of Environmental Associations (WWF, ENPA, Legambiente, Italia Nostra, Altura, CNP e AIIG), who are organising an on-line petition. To sign it you can access the LIPU site (www.lipu.it) or the local branch site at www.lipurende.it.

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MAINARDI'S CORNER

by Danilo Mainardi, Honorary President

Logic over instinct

The behaviour which I am about to describe, not being instinctive, is an exceptional case, that of a certain individual Striated Heron (Butorides striata) which was studied in Trinidad living in a park frequented by tourists who often feed the birds, especially the ducks. They feed them from a platform over the water where the birds gather, but quite a lot of bread sinks and of course fish swarm around it. The Heron observes and draws conclusions. It is necessary first of all to say that it is the established habit of all Herons to wait patiently in ambush for their prey. An excellent habit to learn. And this gives rise to something very interesting.

First of all the fish come to where the tourists and ducks are positioned. However the Heron does not wait here, because it notices that the fish swim precisely to where the bread has fallen. So what should it do? It goes past the ducks and tourists, takes a piece of bread in its beak and then, moving to a suitable part of the bank, drops it in the water. As may be expected a fish arrives and the Heron catches it. But this is not the end of the matter. This Heron also feeds on insects and so if our Heron catches one it may decide to use it as bait. In other words, this Heron reasons and then generalizes. It also seems to calculate, because an insect is always worth less as food than a fish.

This account of a Heron fishing in this way is not completely new. Some time ago I saw another Heron which was doing almost the same thing, except that it was using a feather in a more sophisticated way. The result was almost the same, as fishermen with artificIal bait know full well.

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Translation of this issue by Cicely Adelson, Barbara Avery, Daria Dadam, Caterina Paone, Peter Rafferty, John Walder and Brian Horkley

Most of the line drawings used in this edition are by permission of the RSPB, the pictures of the Eleonora’s Falcon and the Purple Gallinule are used courtesy of the European Commission.

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NEWS FROM LIPU-UK

This is the last edition of the Ali in its present size, the next will be smaller so we can avoid the huge increase the Post Office is imposing in August. We’re taking this opportunity to start afresh, as it were, so you may notice more changes than just the size - we hope you will enjoy the new-look newsletter, as always feed back is welcomed and that leads me to thanks all who took the trouble to write about the proposals in the last Ali.

A clear majority was in favour of A5, and many took the chance to offer related thoughts, all aimed at keeping costs down and therefore maximising the money to spend on the birds. One said,

“I feel that only one subscription increase in 17 years is a record for any conservation organisation

and if inflation were to be taken into account the subscription would be at least double the current one. I would suggest an increase to at least £18 (even £20) per annum would be appropriate and with the small but dedicated membership of LIPU-UK I cannot see how this would upset members.

Regarding postage your suggested options of folding the current A4 size or printing as a A5 booklet are both good, but would a booklet not be more costly to produce and perhaps be a little heavier causing higher postage. Personally I do not mind as long as you choose the most economical option.”

To explain the current situation, yes, our membership subscription must be one of the lowest around, but it is very similar to the basic cost of membership in Italy which is €21 - many of our members simply add a little more when they are able.

I am hoping that the production costs will not increase except for the possibility of including, in the future, more illustrations which I hope will be welcomed and enjoyed. This is, after all the only thing you receive from LIPU so it should be good value for money as long as the costs are reasonable - I am always trying to find the best balance between those two factors.

This leads to another option to reduce costs and the number of trees we cut down. I recently wrote to all those for whom I have an email address and floated the idea of viewing the Ali on line using the computer rather than as a printed newsletter delivered by the postman. The response was overwhelmingly in favour of using the 21st Century method and for those who chose that way - thank you. However, I’d like to say clearly that this is only an option for those with computers, there is no plan to stop printing and posting the Ali to everyone who wants it.

I am sure that many members can receive email and I’d ask you to consider, if you haven’t already, dropping a line to me at mail@lipu-uk.org if you’d like to receive our email bulletins in addition to the newsletters and, of course, if you’d like to receive the Ali from the Internet that’s another item of printing and postage we can save. I say again that this is just an option for those who can and want to take it up - please don’t rush out and buy a computer!

FUTURE ARTICLE

While this issue is at the printers Shirley and I are taking a holiday that I’ve been promising myself for many years. We’re going to Sardinia and will be staying near Carloforte (in a hotel, not the volunteer’s hostel that the UK section bought!). I’m looking forward to walking the clifftops with Luciano, the warden and being able to photograph one of the most beautiful of the falcons.

This place really is close to our hearts as LIPU-UK has funded much needed work over the years and we feel a soecial affinity with a place which combines natural beauty with real conservation importance. The irony is that Sardinia has one of the worst environmental records in Italy and, as you have read, Giovanni Malara is treating it like the Straits of Messina.

I’ll tell you how the holiday went in the next issue.

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Goodbye to the Messina Bridge

As I wrote in my editorial, the first death sentence has been passed on one of the “Great Works”; the headline above was in the papers on the morning of our journey to Ischia. The press release which followed the Minister’s address to LIPU said:

Government announcement on biodiversity

Giuliano Tallone, President of LIPU-BirdLife Italia, has welcomed an announcement from the new Minister of the Environment at LIPU’s National Assembly. Tallone says LIPU fully agrees with the priorities listed by the Minister, that show commitment to the defence of wildlife, to the application of European Directives for the protection of Network 2000 sites and the preservation of the countryside from all forms of illegal activities. In addition to the national plan for the protection of biodiversity the Minister also announced the Government’s plans for the environment. These include the suspension or abolition of some of the decrees brought in under delegated laws, its willingness to tackle the serious situation of the 75 environmental charges that the EU has brought against Italy, the transformation of the State Forest Rangers into an environmental police force and the cancelling of huge construction projects that are useless and damaging to the environment, such as the Messina Bridge. The Minister went on to say that the really big project for Italy was to ensure adequate water supplies for the whole country.

TAIL FEATHERS

The tone of this edition of Ali has been hopeful and positive and I’m sure we all welcome that. However, sometimes it seems that as one door closes andother opens. In particular I think of the autumn trapping in Sardinia which has been going on so long that it will take a determined campaign to bring it to an end. This snippet also shows that we are not yet out of the wood...

The hunting season ended on 31 January 2006.

113 raptors are recovering from shotgun wounds in LIPU treatment centres. Of the 47 different species given aid this year 36 were “protected” by law. It is estimated that mortality rates have risen by between 50 and 100%, with tens of thousands of protected birds being killed during the season. Common Buzzards, Kestrels and Sparrowhawks are frequent targets, but the list also includes Short-toed Eagles, Peregrine Falcons and Booted Eagles. Non-raptors include Flamingos, woodpeckers and herons.

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LIPU-UK ANNUAL DRAW

Our fund raising efforts have been more successful than ever before as we approach the end of our financial year. Thank you to all who contributed to the annual appeal, made other donations and who bought draw tickets.

It's now that time of the year again for the annual draw which receives more support from Carl Zeiss UK who are offering a pair of superb binoculars as a major prize. Thank you again, Carl Zeiss.

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LIPU-UK

Autumn Draw

2006

Last year's prize draw again raised over £2,000, a very valuable contribution to our annual fund raising towards bird conservation and protection in Italy.

We are again holding a draw this Autumn with an exciting list of prizes. We realise that some people are not keen on this kind of fundraising, so please discard the enclosed tickets if you prefer not to participate.

The closing date is Monday, 31st October, 2005 and the ticket counterfoils and money should be returned to David Lingard (whose address is on the tickets). Cheques should be payable to LIPU-UK. Please don't bother to return the unsold books.

We really appreciate the efforts of members in trying to sell as many books of tickets as possible to help our vital fundraising. Note that the ticket price this year is still 50p, and that the books contain 10 tickets each, thus coming to a nice round £5.

Each member (unless you've expressly asked not to receive them) should find two books enclosed, but please don't hesitate to contact David on 01522 689030 should you need further books.

THE PRIZES:

The Star Prize is a cheque for £500.

A pair of Zeiss 8 x 32 FL binoculars (courtesy Zeiss UK)

£100 worth of Mixed Fine Wines from a leading wine merchant.

Set of 6 DVDs - The Birds of Britain and Europe, by Paul Doherty of Bird Images.

One year's subscription to Bird Watching magazine (courtesy of Emap Active Ltd.) - this monthly publication is an excellent read with amazing pictures.

A LIPU birding vest.