Editorial

Dear Members,

Another year draws to a close. A year full of difficulties, in a world that knows wars, problems and environmental suffering, but also one full of satisfaction and hope. For example, the satisfaction of the things LIPU has done and experienced, which have been many and of no small magnitude. With volunteers, staff, and many members and donors, we have succeeded in creating new oases, reviving recovery centres, stopping wild hunting proposals, fostering species and habitats, achieving results for the sea and sustainable agriculture, and engaging people of all ages by devoting hundreds of thousands of hours to our wonderful mission: to spread an ecological culture that concretely respects biodiversity.

One success out of all deserves to be mentioned: the passage of the Nature Restoration Law, the European law on nature restoration that will allow the regeneration of habitats and species in distress, and that will also benefit us. Now that’s a word I really like: regeneration. A word that goes well with the upcoming holidays and the beginning of the new year, in which to invest new energy and, indeed, all the hope possible. You will read a lot about nature in this issue of Ali. In the opening article, our editor Danilo Selvaggi talks about the fascinating topic of the night, and how we can appreciate the dark, discover the incredible life that populates it, and learn to live with it while respecting and benefiting biodiversity. Next, the Focus talks about LIPU’s great work of updating Italy’s IBAs, the most important areas for birds, which have increased from 172 in 2002 to 249 today. There are cries of alarm about the many species of migratory waders, in some cases diminished by more than 30 percent, and about the mismanagement of urban greenery in our country, with a series of clichés debunked by Marco Dinetti.

Away from Ali, and in a context where selfishness seems to prevail, to the detriment of an ecological vision, we participated in Kazakhstan in the meeting of BirdLife International’s partners from Europe and Central Asia working on common future programmes. This year, as I travelled thousands of miles from north to south, I met the most beautiful Italy, that of the great LIPU family. To you, to all of you go my heartfelt thanks for the honour of being your president and making myself useful for the fantastic cause of nature. Thank you!

Contents

• The Night
• Urban Ecology
• Major update to IBAs
• Historic warbler research

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