Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux

France (Mainland)

Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux (LPO)

Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux (LPO) is the BirdLife Partner

Founded in: 1912
Members: 35,000
Staff: 127
Address: LPO - Fonderies Royales, 8-10 rue du Docteur Pujos,
B.P. 90263, 17305 ROCHEFORT CEDEX, France
Email: lpo@lpo.fr
Web: http://www.lpo.fr/

Mission of the organisation

The protection of wild birds and the habitats upon which they depend.

This is carried out throughout France with a network of 30 financially independent LPO sections.

Key Activities

Conservation: Sites

• Management of seven national nature reserves (13,000 ha), 6 of which are coastal, mostly along the Atlantic
• Improving management of wet grassland through agreements with local councils, through advice and/or financial support c.3000 ha
• Ownership of c.1200 ha wet grassland, which is rented, at minimum cost, to stock breeders willing to take on management prescriptions for the restoration or maintenance of biodiversity richness in these sites
• Preparation and implementation of management plans for Natura 2000 sites and nature reserves

Conservation: Species

• Reintroduction and management of populations of Griffon, Black, and Bearded Vultures in different mountain ranges in France (Cevennes, Pyrenees, the Alps, Gorges de Verdon)
• Annual surveillance of raptor breeding sites
• Breeding site management, identification of the causes of extinction, population monitoring, public awareness campaigns for globally threatened species, e.g. Lesser Kestrel and Corncrake
• Coordination and/or application of action plans for nationally threatened species: Corncrake, Bittern, Bonelli’s Eagle, Eygptian Vulture, Black Vulture, Bearded Vulture, Osprey, Lesser Kestrel, Red Kite, Little Owl and seabirds
• Attempts to halt the decline of meadow & arable lowland plains birds (Corncrake and Little Bustard as flagship species) by working with farmers, land purchase, implementation of agri-environmental measures, and reinforcing the population of Little Bustard

Monitoring and Research

• Updating inventories of Important Bird Area, SPAs and SSSI equivalents
• Monitoring of threatened species, including birds present in overseas départements and territories of France
• National co-ordination of the International Waterbird Counts
• Contribution to international projects: Wetlands International database, inventories, action plans, scientific publications, etc.
• Active participation in committees of the Ministry of Environment, and at regional & national level
• Annual national survey, since 2002, of diurnal raptors

Education

• LPO, together with schools, produces education tools, works in schools, and manages 10 visitor centres receiving more than 200,000-300,000 visitors per year
• Development and expansion of a network of Refuges (9,500 covering 24,000 ha all over France), private land (gardens, fields, municipal property, etc.) managed for the benefit of wildlife
• Articles in the member’s magazine providing advice on ecological gardening

Publications

• L'OISEAU magazine and the supplement Rapaces de France for members and the general public, Ornithos for the specialised birdwatchers
• Newsletters : LPO Infos for members; Flash Infos for the LPO sections; Lettre "Agro-Environment Infos" for people interested in environmentally-friendly farming systems; Birds and electric powerlines. Newsletters about threatened raptor species: Bonelli‘s Eagle, Eygptian Vulture, Black Vulture, Bearded Vulture, Osprey, Lesser Kestrel, Red Kite and Little Owl

International

• The overseas départements and territories of France are mostly islands in different tropical zones of the world, holding the majority of French biodiversity (65 of 71 threatened species in France and its departments and territories)
• Awareness-raising, at the EU level and the national level, of the importance for biodiversity of these overseas départements and territories
• Support to the small NGOs in the overseas départements and territories, e.g. for the endemic petrels on Reunion Island
• Networking and exchange of know-how through BirdLife Partners, Eurosite, etc.

Legal Affairs

Monitoring of the application of Wild Birds Directive in metropolitan France, together with the application of national laws concerned with the conservation of species and habitats and the application of international conventions. Court action is taken when necessary

Recent Achievements

• Establishment of a captive breeding centre for Little Bustard on the verge of extinction in Poitou-Charentes, to reinforce the migratory population of this species in arable fields. At the same time, encourage implementation of agri-environmental measures on 1,200-1,400 hectares in order to restore the habitat of the species. LPO works with the local laboratory of the French National Scientific Research organisation (CNRS) and National Museum of Natural History on this new LIFE programme 2005-2009
• National restoration plan for the Corncrake in France to improve the quality of agri-environmental contracts with farmers. Increase the area purchased for the Corncrake in Basses Vallées Angevines (400 ha)
• Participate in the national plan "Loire nature" to restore its natural dynamics and biodiversity. LPO works together with other national NGOs (WWF-France, Fédération des Conservatoires, etc.)
• Implementation of the LIFE Nature programme for the Bittern to restore reedbeds in 6 key sites with local people. A LIFE Co-op project has enabled LPO works at an international level with RSPB and Länder Brandenburg State office for Environment (Germany) on the preparation of a “Handbook for actions to promote the Bittern in Europe” highlighting best practice to save this species
• LPO is working closely with a national agency and the Ministry of environment to prepare a new policy for windfarms which is biodiversity-friendly
• 6th "Night of the Owl", March 2005 in collaboration with Fédération des Parcs Naturels Régionaux de France. 40,000 people participated in 500 different locations around France
• The BirdLife International campaign for environmentally-friendly agriculture in Europe was launched in France by LPO. 7,700 signatures were collected putting France in second position out of the 25 countries which participated. In France, LPO had a national photo competition on the theme "Biodiversity in the rural landscape". The winner of the national competition was also a winner in the European competition
• 2004 saw the start of a LIFE programme on Egyptian Vultures at 6 sites in the south of France. Pairs of vultures have already started returning to abandoned nesting sites
• Evaluating trends of wintering and breeding birds
• Building a database of birds present in Overseas departments and territories
• Publication of the national atlas of breeding raptors