Migratory birds Combating illegal killing, poisoning and electrocution: Protecting birds along the Adriatic Flyway Geographical location in Europe
Bird habitats along the Adriatic Flyway in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Albania. The Adriatic Flyway stretches from north-eastern Europe through the Balkans down to Africa. Among the key areas are the Neretva Delta including the Hutovo Blato Nature Park in the border area of Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Bojana Buna Delta including the Ulcinj Salina in the border area of Montenegro and Albania (Map p. 7, No. 2 and 3).
Twice every year a major proportion of Europe‘s birds sets out on a long and dangerous journey. In their breeding, resting and overwintering areas we protect the nomads of the sky from illegal hunting as well as from increasing levels of habitat destruction.
Status
An international study conducted by BirdLife International in 2016 estimated that between 11 and 36 million birds per year may be killed or taken illegally in the Mediterranean region, and the situation has not become any less dramatic since then. Apart from Italy, Cyprus, Egypt and the Middle East, the Western Balkans are a hotspot of bird crime, with an estimated 600,000 to 1.6 million birds getting illegally killed per year. It is almost impossible for migratory birds to rest undisturbed in the region. In addition to illegal hunting and the increasing levels of habitat loss, the Balkan human population’s rising energy demand constitutes an additional threat to Europe’s birdlife. In recent years the development of wind farms and the electric grid have been driven forward in the region, thus also increasing the risk for birds of colliding with such installations and falling victim to electrocution or collision mortality.
Objectives
Together with our large network of partners in conservation, our aim is to significantly reduce illegal bird hunting in the Balkans. To this end, we endeavour to establish a more accurate picture of the extent to which birds are illegally killed along the Adriatic Flyway, to draw the public’s attention to the significance of the problem, and to convince the national governments to consistently combat illegal hunting by means of suitable policies and statutory provisions. We hope to reduce bird deaths by electrocution at power lines by applying correction measures to existing installations while at the same time building up awareness for bird-friendly constructions to ensure that these will be used in future energy projects. 14
Annual Report 2019
The protection of migratory birds and their habitats in Europe has been a core concern of the EuroNatur Foundation since its establishment. We have been able to make a great deal of progress, for example by achieving a ban on bird hunting in Albania. As a result, the country has become a more attractive breeding and resting region for many migratory birds. Moreover, we have established a partner network in the countries sharing the Adriatic Flyway whose staff professionally collaborate and take joint action against bird hunting. Successes such as these strengthen our resolve. But there is still a lot of work ahead of us before the skies above the Balkans can truly be declared safe for our feathered globetrotters.
