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BirdLife Europe e-news
Volume VII, Issue 9, November 2013
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Featured in this Issue
BirdLife launches new website
Modernised and improved, the new BirdLife website is now life! Read about the changes we have made in order to make the most of your visit.
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News From the EU
In October the European Parliament gave a massive boost to the future of Europe’s fisheries by voting against public funding being used to build new fishing vessels.
American experts alert EU politicians of bioenergy policy risks Amercian NGOs Dogwood Alliance and Greenpeace Canada travel to Brussels to present evidence of damages to the climate and environment that the EU renewable energy policy is driving in North America.
Alpine farmers supporting biodiversity recovery At a recent conference in Turin, Italy, BirdLife Europe, LIPU (BirdLife in Italy) and BirdLife Austria discussed the opportunities that the EU rural development policy offers for biodiversity conservation.
EU delays on energy policy may worsen climate change The European Parliament vote on biofuels and indirect land use change in October jeopardizes reaching an agreement before the 2014 European Parliament elections.
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Conservation
Amazing journey website back on track-ing migrations!
With a lack of trackable Sociable Lapwings to report on over the last year, BirdLife has just reactivated the Amazing Journey website. By visiting the website, you will receive news about the migrations of three new birds that scientists from RSPB (BirdLife in the UK) and ACBK (BirdLife in Kazakhstan) have fitted with satellite tags earlier this year.
Putting action plans in place to eradicate wildlife poisoning Over 6,500 birds have been killed in Spain in the last decade. Poison-baiting is the most widely used predator eradication method worldwide and is undoubtedly one of the biggest threats to bird life and biodiversity in Spain.
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What's more?
 Land available for bioenergy production: sustainable potential and why it is not yet being used?
by BirdLife Europe, EEB and Transport & Environment
Deadline: 10 December 2013
In 2013 a new project was started, aimed at encouraging the development of renewable grids. The project BESTGRID, in which BirdLife Europe is taking part, brings together energy businesses and green NGOs from across Europe to develop electricity grids with respect for nature. A new website for the project has just been launched. Visit www.bestgrid.eu to read about the four project pilots that the BESTGRID partners will implement within the next two and a half years. |
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Job Opportunities
Senior European Marine Conservation Officer
The Senior European Marine Conservation Officer leads the development and effective implementation of the European Marine Strategy as part of the Global Seabirds and Marine Programme of BirdLife International. He/she contributes to the planning, development, implementation and communication of the strategy by the European and Central Asian Partnership.
Location: Cambridge, UK
Closing Date: 18 November 2013
Fundraising Opportunities
30 November: European Outdoor Conservation Association - Conservation projects
30 November: British Ornithologists' Union (BOU) - Funding ornithological research
30 November: British Ornithologists' Union (BOU) - Career development bursary scheme
30 November: AEWA - Waterbird conservation in African-Eurasian Flyways
30 November: Convention on Migratory Species
1 December: Phoenix Zoo - Wildlife conservation and science
1 December: Waterloo Foundation - Tropical forest
3 December: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Conservation of neotropical migratory birds
6 December: IPA - Civil Society Facility Montenegro Programme
9 December: Earthwatch Institute - Field research: Biodiversity
9 December::Earthwatch Institute - Field research: Citizens science
9 December: Earthwatch Institute - Field research: Conservation in Patagonia
9 December: Earthwatch Institute - Field research: Conservation in cold climate environment
10 December: Keidanren Nature Conservation Fund - Field projects in environment
11 December: CEPF - Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot
13 December: IPA - Cross-border Programme Croatia-Montenegro
16 December: CEPF - Eastern Afromontane biodiversity hotspot
For more information please contact Stefania Macchioni, Grant Writing and Donor Management Officer at BirdLife Europe.
Events
July - December, Europe: Lithuanian Presidency of the EU. Learn more about BirdLife Europe's recommendations for a successful Presidency.
27 - 28 November, Brussels, Belgium: Spring Alive Workshop. Convened by OTOP (BirdLife in Poland), the workshop will take place in Brussels. BirdLife Partners involved in the Spring Alive project will have the opportunity to share experiences, best results and lessons learned.
4 December, Brussels, Belgium: Achieving an Ecosystem-Based Approach for Maritime Spatial Planning and Integrated Coastal Management. This lunchtime round table will bring together actors from the European Parliament, the European Commission, wind energy representatives and stakeholders working at a national level. The discussion will revolve around holistic approaches to the planning of activities within the marine environment.
BirdLife launches new website
I’m delighted to announce that our new website is now live!
The old website dated back to 2003 which is an awfully long time in the web world. Just think - Facebook, Twitter and YouTube didn’t exist back then. BirdLife’s new website is designed to reflect the BirdLife Partnership as it is today— a group of contemporary, mature and confident organisations— world leaders for environmental conservation that act for nature and people by focusing action through birds.
What have we changed?
· A simplified structure and navigation: you are only ever a couple of clicks away from content you want.
· Different paths to news: there are multiple ways to enter each of our pages and on each of them you will find the most recent and relevant news.
· Local to global: all regions have dedicated web space for more independence and local relevance.
· Global to local: one common structure wraps regional and global stories to make it easier to find your way around.
· Focus on the audience: we give easy access to your areas of specific interest, such as policy or science.
Additionally, we have overcome technical difficulties and democratised the way an editor can contribute to the content. The website is also mobile friendly so you can take it with you on the go using your tablet or smart phone. It is also in line with the latest search engines’ guidelines.
What haven't we changed?
Our website continues to offer the great scientific content of our Data Zone, continues to provide great fresh News, being fully integrated with our social media (Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo, …) and strives to be more and more the meeting point for our Partners across Europe and Central Asia.
I hope you like your new website!
For more information please contact Caroline Jacobsson, BirdLife Europe, Head of Communications and Marketing.
Project highlights mineral sites’ potential to deliver biodiversity
 The new RESTORE Project was officially sent on its way at a launch event at the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining in London at the end of September. The project incorporated partners from the UK, Netherlands, Belgium and Germany and is funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the INTERREG IVB NWE Programme.
Representing the RSPB (lead partner in the project), Sue Armstrong-Brown, Head of Conservation Policy, showcased the project’s ambitions to capitalise on the vast potential that mineral sites represent for the creation of priority habitats across North-West Europe by highlighting the success of the Nature After Minerals (NAM) Programme in the UK. The program brings together all sectors from in and around the minerals industry including planners, operators, conservation bodies and local communities. The project will provide vital homes for all nature while remaining in line with the EU’s targets to halt biodiversity decline by 2020. Local communities will also benefit by being able to re-connect with nature on sites appropriately restored for biodiversity.
The NAM Programme has been working alongside stakeholders in the UK to shine a light on the work being undertaken to enhance biodiversity in and around the minerals industry. It will continue to play a pivotal role within the RESTORE project, sharing best practices and disseminating advice on innovative ideas and methods being employed internationally, through a series of demonstration events.
In May this year, a coalition of conservation and research organisations reported a 60% decline in UK species in recent decades in the ground-breaking State of Nature Report. The minerals industry in the UK is already playing a key role in helping to reverse such a decline. For instance, fifteen of the UK’s hundred pairs of elusive Bitterns are to be found on mineral sites which have been restored for nature. The minerals industry in the UK is working hard to realise its potential to deliver for the natural world and provide vital homes for nature on its sites – whether during operational phases or post-restoration. But, the stakes are high and nature is struggling to keep up in an increasingly-developed world. The appropriate and sustainable restoration of mineral sites for biodiversity can make a real difference on the state of the natural environment.
For more information on the RESTORE Project, contact Bea Ayling, RESTORE Project Co-ordinator at bea.ayling@rspb.org.uk.
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This publication receives its support by the European Commission and the RSPB