LIPU-UK was founded in 1989 and since then has been successful in supporting LIPU, the Italian League for Bird Protection, the BirdLife Partner in Italy, in many ways. LIPU-UK members have been to Italy to help on the ground with various projects and members and friends have together raised over £1,300,000 which has been committed to conservation work in support of the birds in Italy.
LIPU-UK has now come of age and achieved another milestone – having raised well over one million pounds all devoted to protecting birds in Italy. We are a registered charity and have almost 1,000 supporters whose loyalty and generosity have made these things possible. Run entirely on a voluntary basis we have minimised our operating costs and succeed in most years in containing expenses below 10% of funds raised.
Members receive four colour newsletters, Ali (Wings), per year and all administration is done in this country so a lack of knowledge of Italian is no reason for not joining.
Each year the trustees of LIPU-UK choose a number of projects to support and in 2019 we will be funding the following work in Italy:
- Anti-poaching measures in Sardinia, in Puglia, near Brescia in the north, and at the Straits of Messina
- Monitoring the migration routes of raptors through Sicily (Year 16)
- Bonelli’s Eagle protection at nest sites in in Sicily
- Monitoring and maintaining nesting boxes for Red-footed Falcons in Parma
- Mapping and census of Kentish Plover in Sardinia
- Medicines and other consumables for LIPU Recovery Centres (Bird Hospitals)
- Collecting census data on the Kentish Plover population in Sardinia
- Investigating the threats to the Rock Ptarmigan in the Alps to provide assistance to this species
- Surveying and updating the Important Bird Areas (IBA) of Italy
This ambitious challenge sets us a target of raising about € 96,000 and will make a real difference to the safety of birds in Italy.
Progress is being made and the situation is so much better than it was in the 1990s, but it is a slow process and there is still a long way to go. Help is still needed and you could play a part by joining LIPU-UK and knowing that your membership subscription of just £20 per year will be making a vital contribution to the safety of birds both in, and over, Italy. For more information please e-mail me now, or drop me line at:
David Lingard (LIPU-UK), Fernwood, Doddington Road, Whisby, Lincs, LN6 9BX, UK.