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 £1,600,000 which has been committed to conservation work in support of the 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 2021 we will be funding the following work in Italy:
- Anti-poaching measures in Sardinia, near Brescia in the north, and at the Straits of Messina
- Monitoring the migration routes of raptors through Sicily
- A complete update to the Important Bird Area (IBA) inventory
- Bonelli’s Eagle protection at nest sites in in Sicily
- Monitoring population and maintaining nesting boxes for Red-footed Falcons in Parma
- Mapping and census of Kentish Plover in Sardinia and Calabria
- Medicines and other consumables for LIPU Recovery Centres (Bird Hospitals)
- Support for the work of Local Conservation Groups
- Protection of nesting Montagu’s Harrier
- Protection of Lanner Falcon in Tuscany
- Protection of breeding sites of Collared Pratincole in Sicily
This ambitious challenge sets us a target of raising about € 74,000 and will make a real difference to the safety of birds in Italy. More detailed information is in our Spring 2021 newsletter
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, using the Contact tab above or drop me line at:
David Lingard (LIPU-UK), Fernwood, Doddington Road, Whisby, Lincs, LN6 9BX, UK.