BirdLife Europe and Central Asia

⚠️BREAKING⚠️ We are filing a complaint against the European Commission! Together with ClientEarth, we have presented a complaint to the EU Ombudsman after they say the EU Commission defied its own democratic standards to get a revision of the bloc’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) over the line. In March, under pressure from different parties and claiming to be answering to farmers’ demands, the Commission ushered through changes to two key regulations in the CAP – a vast subsidy mechanism worth around €300 billion from 2023-2027, which funds farming operations all over the EU. The changes served to weaken environmental requirements for farmers in the CAP – a fatal move for agriculture. Citing political “urgency”, the Commission conferred with just four farming unions, behind closed doors, with no opinions sought from NGOs or citizens. The previous reform had garnered input from over 300,000 stakeholders.  The resulting proposal for the revision went against the wishes of two of those four farming unions, and the Commission omitted to carry out any kind of impact assessment or otherwise demonstrate that it had taken into consideration the best available evidence.  BirdLife attempted to access documents that may have shown the CAP was already failing to guarantee environmental protection – even without this further weakening – through access to information requests, but the Commission stopped responding.  A group of 16 NGOs wrote to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to ask for the proposal to be withdrawn – but without success.  ClientEarth’s lawyers termed the lightning-speed process that led to the revision “blatantly incompatible with EU law”.  #farmersprotests2024 #NoNatureNoFood

birds are brat #brat #bratsummer #charlixcx

“𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵? 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘗𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥𝘴.” 𝘔𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘪𝘳. 𝟮.𝟲𝗺 𝗯𝗶𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗟𝗲𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗼𝗻! 😡💢 The Guardian exposes this horrific trend using BirdLife’s data. Misinformation, cruel “traditions”, and societal normalisation fuel this bloodbath, and social media is just the bloody cherry on top. It is estimated that 327 bird species are passing or living in Lebanon, and … they are in danger! With climate change affecting migratory paths, many more species are likely to become victims of gluing, trapping, or being shot in the future. Hunting migratory birds in Lebanon has been illegal since 2012! The government needs to act. Read the article here, if your heart feels brave today: https://lnkd.in/dmasSBDJ #Birdlifeflyways BirdLife International Society for the Protection of Nature in Lebanon

🐦 A little birdy told us...the results of the #RestoreNature giveaway are out! 😍 Click here to find the list of lucky winners 👉 https://lnkd.in/ey86xaaV 👏 Congratulations to the winners but also to anyone who participated, and thank you to everyone who supported the Nature Restoration Law so far. 💚 🔜 Next: stay tuned for the implementation of the NRL. 😎

Have you seen BirdLife’s latest magazine? 🌟🦜 In this issue, we dive into the challenges facing the Sage Grouse, efforts to save the Liben Lark, the world’s longest flyway, and so much more! 🌍 📖 The magazine is FREE for members of BirdLife's World Bird Club! Join here: https://lnkd.in/e64hqtaY But wait, there’s more! 👀 🦅 Grab your exclusive Flyways special edition magazine, available at Birdfair this coming weekend! Come and find us! Our stand number is S54/55. S stands for the Swallow Marquee. 🗓️🎉 #BirdLife #SageGrouse #LibenLark #Flyways #BirdConservation #Birdfair #WildlifeMagazine #NatureLovers

Ursula von der Leyen voted Commission President for next 5 years, and the EU Green Deal will continue - but how and at what price? Following a secret ballot von der Leyen received 401 votes in favour, 284 against, 15 abstentions. This vote not only means the continuation of von der Leyen’s Presidency but also the continuation of the Green Deal. But while the Green Deal of 2019 focused on addressing the nature and climate crises, the 2024 version appears to be much more targeted on industry competitiveness and investments in clean technologies to achieve climate neutrality. So what does this mean for the green agenda in the EU for the next five years? BirdLife Europe’s first analysis of von der Leyen’s Political Guidelines for the next five years, which was released today, sees a repeated reference toward supporting European businesses and promoting EU competitiveness. Von der Leyen wants to achieve that through the designation of a Vice-President for Implementation, Simplification and Interinstitutional Relations, in order to "stress-test the entire EU acquis”. If simplification results in lowering environmental standards and backtracking on democratically agreed objectives, it will spell disaster for nature and climate, and for the future of Europeans. Science unequivocally points towards the urgent need to accelerate the ecological transition and combat biodiversity collapse and climate change. Simplification of rules and standards is not the answer. The simplification agenda should not be used as a Trojan Horse to weaken environmental legislation to the benefit of a few and backtrack years of work and investments. The Commission’s own studies show that investing in the care of our natural world pays huge dividends. This is why, the EU must fully support and better monitor the implementation of laws, and ensure it delivers the transformational change needed to overcome the biodiversity and climate crises. Through effective implementation, the EU will have real, measurable impact on the ground. #EUGreenDeal

Exciting news for European Turtle-Doves! 🕊️ This species, once synonymous with “worrying decline” is showing the first signs of recovery on the western flyway! Thanks to efforts like the zero-take policy implemented in France, Spain, Portugal, and parts of Italy, we're seeing the highest population numbers since 2011. According to the Pan European Common Birds Monitoring Scheme’s population data, the 10-year population trend has improved from "moderate decline" to "stable”, highlighting the positive impact of the hunting ban. Sadly, it's a different story for the central-eastern flyway, where countries like Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Malta, and Cyprus are still to commit to the recommendation for zero-take and the recovery of the species. We are grateful that the European Commission is committed to restoring threatened species. Together with our Partners, we remain dedicated to achieving the full recovery of the species.💚 Read the full story: https://lnkd.in/ephcjDRS 📷 Cristian Zamfir/Shutterstock

🚨 Giveaway alert! 🚨 To celebrate the Nature Restoration Law and gear up for its implementation, the EU’s first major law for nature in 30 years, we’re giving away #RestoreNature T-shirts and posters! Surf to https://lnkd.in/eDXyh56M  to take part in a small #RestoreNature quiz and who knows, you might be walking in exclusive merchandise soon! Winners will be announced in the week of 22-26 July 2024! This action is running until July 21. We only ship in the EU. 🎨T-shirt designed by YUYARIKUNA FILMS .

Here in the Vallée du Bocq #Natura2000 site in 🇧🇪, a hay meadow nestled in woodland adds to the heterogeneity of the landscape 🌳 14 habitats 🌱 and 12 species 🐞 of significance are present in the area! The birds 🐦 you can hear show the importance of protecting habitat transitions with the #EUGW service. Check out more protected habitats at 👇 https://cop4n2k.eu/

Last week, your favourite BirdLife Europe & Central Asia team gathered in the scenic south of Belgium for our annual staff retreat! We took a break from our desks to immerse ourselves in nature, guided by our wonderful Partners at Natagora. They proudly showcased their inspiring restoration projects in Wallonia, including an impressive river restoration and flourishing, restored grasslands. The transformation is breathtaking! We were thrilled to spot rare plant and insect species making a comeback to the region. It's a reminder of the incredible impact of dedicated conservation efforts. And a few lucky ones even managed to sight a White-tailed Eagle (the author of this post, unfortunately, did not). 🦅 #RestoreNature #GenerationRestoration