Measures for the conservation of Chiroptera and Avifauna in Central Italy

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

BACKGROUND

Bats and raptors are two of the most threatened animal groups in Europe. Bats have been a protected species since 1939 and are included in the annexes of Bern Convention and the Habitat Directive. Out of the 34 species listed for Italy, 25 species have been recorded in Tuscany. The other targeted species of the project, the red kite (Milvus milvus), was reintroduced to Tuscany as part of the previous LIFE project (LIFE04 NAT/IT/000173) and has a stable population. The main threats affecting the populations of the bat species are habitat loss, deterioration and fragmentation due to the human activities, the risks inherent in the existence of small, fragmented populations; direct disturbance to the bat colonies caused by people and forestry operations that are not compatible with these species. For the raptors the main threats are the power lines.

OBJECTIVES

The project aims to:

Protect the resting/breeding sites of cave-dwelling bat species;

Increase the availability of foraging sites for bats;

Increase the availability of resting/breeding sites for non cave-dwelling bat species;

Establish two Minimum Viable Populations of red kite;

Decrease dramatically the risk of electrocution for the red kite and other birds of prey listed in Annex I of the Birds Directive.