Life Safe Vultures Tender

Duration 01-JAN-2021 to 31-DEC -2026Total budget 3196851.00 EU contribution 1876992.00 Project descriptionBackgroundThe griffon vulture Gyps fulvus is a typical scavenger feeding exclusively on carcasses of medium- and large-sized animals. It has a large breeding range extending over Europe the Middle East and North Africa. In Italy the griffon vulture is still included in the IUCN Red List as critically endangered with the last natural population persisting on the island of Sardinia. Exchanges of mainland griffon vulture populations among breeding areas have not been quantified yet evidence telemetry leg-band reading shows they move extensively both at a country scale and abroad being connected with populations in Croatia France and Spain. In the last years the conservation status of the griffon vulture population increased thanks to the implementation of the project LIFE Under Griffon Wings LIFE14 NATIT000484 aimed at mitigating the main threats food shortage poisoning in the north-western part of the island and by implementing a restocking programme. However the project area of LIFE Under Griffon Wings is limited to a few Natura 2000 sites in north-west Sardinia. Thus under current conditions the expected increase in population size will likely lead to high mortality rates among dispersing birds considering that in central eastern and southern Sardinia the main threats have not been addressed. The long-term conservation of the Sardinian population of griffon vultures is pivotal also to allow the development of a wider conservation plan to restore the vultures on the island.ObjectivesThe main aim of the LIFE SAFE for VULTURES project is to take the first steps to conserve the griffon vulture Gyps fulvus over the entire island of Sardinia.Specific objectives are to Enlarge the area of occupancy of griffon vultures and increase its carrying capacity by a enlarging the area in which farm feeding stations FFS can be activated by updating the regional legislation to increase the number of Natura 2000 sites in which farm feeding stations can be authorised and b creating a second nucleus of griffon vultures in south Sardinia over 100 km distance away from the main colony Mitigate the risk of poisoning events Encourage a transition towards lead-free ammunition in ungulate hunting to mitigate the risk of lead poisoning and Reduce the risks of collision with energy infrastructures and electrocution Increase public awareness on the importance of griffon vultures and their acceptance in the new sites. Results Expected results Increased population size of griffon vulture from 230 individuals 2019 to 400 individuals in 2026 Restored pastureland ecosystems in Sardinia by reintroducing the presence of livestock carcasses in the fields a minimum of 21 000 kilos of biomassyear will be disposed in the farm feeding stations