Editorial

by LIPU President, Aldo Verner.

Members, Nature, Hope?

The Members’ Assembly 2020, held by videoconference on 10 October, showed LIPU’s strength even in extremely difficult times like that of the pandemic. The images that brought proceedings to a close were wonderful: migratory birds and a hope for the future.

I never thought I would lead an Assembly as the President of LIPU – an appointment that still thrills me today, a year after my election. Even less could I have imagined presiding over an Assembly like that of 10 October: by videoconference and in the stranglehold of the pandemic that has gripped the whole world for months.

And yet it was a powerful and absorbing meeting. We presented the balance sheet, reported on the activities carried out in 2019 and 2020, and described the actions put in place to cope with the pandemic. The first was the creation of a crisis unit, which has managed the complex situation very efficiently, minimising the dangers for volunteers and employees.

I highlighted in my report how much, even at the height of the crisis, LIPU was committed to further improvements. And that is how it turned out: we ensured that conservation was carried out at the most sensitive bird breeding sites, cared for animals in our recovery centres, worked on the reserves, acted to protect huntable species, and relaunched the monitoring of hunting. We went ahead with big projects and continued our activities regarding environmental policy and the protection of the land. We handed a 180,000 signature petition to the Prime Minister, Giuseppe Conte, and the Environment Minister, Sergio Costa, in support of a new regulatory framework that would finally be a breakthrough in the struggle against poaching. We worked on communication, relationships with our members, environmental education, volunteering and management; all this against the backdrop of an excellent 2019 exercise and controlling the pandemic-related deficit of 2020. These are results to be proud of, and are presented in the corporate report of 2019.

There were numerous interesting stories from members and activists who attentively took part in the Assembly, reporting their experiences and contributions to LIPU.

The Assembly 2020 coincided with the World Day of Migratory Birds. Various photographers paid tribute to LIPU, sending us their work and words of hope. And so, this unique Members’ Assembly ended with a display of wonderful images of wild birds, their beauty, and their will to live.

My thanks go to the Director General and all the staff for the excellent organisation, to the Governing Council for the work it does, and to all of you – valued members and volunteers who never fail, not even in such a difficult year. To the next Assembly, with the hope of a return to ‘normal’.

Contents

• Silence
• Barn OwI Nesting Behaviour
• Farmland Bird Index
• European Habitat

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