A database to protect migratory birds

Observation of birds of prey in the Grands Causses

Unfortunately, enjoying the status of protective species isn't enough to save their skins. Many migratory birds are endangered: already threatened by men, they are the first to suffer the impact of global warming. Many changes in behavior have already been observed: species altering their "flight plans" and resting places, and even no longer migrating.

To enhance the protection of these species and guarantee their survival, it is therefore urgent to mutualize and upgrade the knowledge about bird migration. To do this, the League for the Protection of Birds (LPO) has initiated the launch of a "Migration" plan, to be spread over five years, in partnership with scientists and other associations involved in the field. The aim: to professionalize tracking in the field and to develop familiarization tools for the public at large.

Gathering a maximum of information

This nationwide project is aimed at networking the knowledge and tools relative to bird migration in France. On a dedicated internet site, the data will therefore be accessible to all. Each scientist or participant can consult the observations placed online by his colleagues and, in his turn, enrich the general database with his own knowledge gained in the field.

To compile this vast inventory of migratory bird behavior, the Veolia Environnement Foundation is financing the project with a 19 000 euros grant. This sum will serve in particular to buy the optical equipment for tracking migration on the sites.

Sponsor's summary

"This nationwide'participative sciences' project is led by the LPO, an association recognized for its battle for the protection of birds. I am particularly attached to this project because it addresses an even more complicated problem: the junction of two major environmental challenges (climate change and the conservation of biodiversity)."

Cécile Querleu, Veolia Environnement

Discover all the project of the Veolia Environnement Foundation aon their website