birdlife.org
Press release: Italy's Messina Strait Bridge would kill tens of thousands of migratory birds, warns BirdLife
The Italian government is about to approve a suspension bridge across the Strait of Messina, one of the most important bird migration bottlenecks in the African-Eurasian Flyway. BirdLife International is calling on the European Commission and the Secretariat of the UN Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) to stop the project, approved in disregard of both EU and international law.[1][2] The Strait of Messina, a 3-kilometre stretch of sea separating Sicily from mainland Italy, is one of Europe’s most important migration corridors, alongside the Bosphorus and Gibraltar. It is the single most important bottleneck for the pre-breeding migration of species such as the Honey buzzard, and hosts a high percentage of the European populations of: Barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) Eurasian skylark(Alauda arvensis) European bee-eater (Merops apiaster) Common crane (Grus grus) White stork (Ciconia ciconia) Black stork (Ciconia nigra) In spring, birds arrive at the Strait after crossing 2,700 km of Sahel and Sahara Desert and at least 140km of open sea over the Sicily Channel, stopping to rebuild the energy reserves they need to reach their breeding grounds. In autumn, the Strait is a critical stopover before the journey back to Africa. The bridge would...
