Controversial mining project in Tanzania’s Lake Natron halted

A controversial mining project in Tanzania's Lake Natron – an annual breeding ground for thousands of Lesser Flamingos – was halted this month, thanks to BirdLife Partners' and local communities' momentous efforts.

In early 2025, Ngaresero Valley Company Ltd announced plans to build a plant with the capacity to extract 1,000,000 metric tonnes annually from the basin – a project that would initially produce 660,000 metric tonnes of refined soda ash.

From May to July, our Partner Nature Tanzania – working closely with nine villages surrounding the lake – spearheaded an unprecedented grassroots mobilisation to stop the project. The 'Our Lake, Our Life' collective voice was led by local community members, pastoralists and elders. Nature Tanzania amplified these voices, with scientific data and conservation evidence.

After four months, the Tanzanian government has announced it will not allow large-scale soda ash extraction at Lake Natron. Officials reaffirmed that the lake’s Ramsar status and its role as the only significant Lesser Flamingo breeding site in East Africa make it too important to risk.

Iconic and undervalued: Celebrating vultures

There was a flurry of exciting activity to celebrate the world's vultures this International Vulture Awareness Day.

Our Vulture Conservation team in Africa participated in the HEARTS 4 Climate conference title 'Health and Environment in Africa: Research Translations, and Solutions for Climate'. They co-facilitated a roundtable session exploring the role of Indigenous knowledge in conservation and traditional medicine in advancing One Health.

AFRICA'S VULTURES

Vital, unsung and vanishing

Development created a new Vulture Champion booklet inviting donors to support our work moving the agenda forward for threatened vultures across three continents (Africa, Asia and Europe). Developed in close collaboration with Susan Micol and Roger Safford, with support from colleagues including Fadzai Matsvimbo, Vina Dharmarajah, Stu Butchart and Vicky Jones, it invites donors to become a Vulture Champion for a minimum donation of £25k per year. This is the first in a new series of Species Champion 'fundraising products', focused on protecting threatened groups of species across multiple regions. Seabird Champion is up next - watch this space!

If you'd like printed copies of any Development materials, please get in touch with Hollie Fletcher and Rhett Nuenighoff.

Te Ipukarea Society: Manu Tai o te Kūki ʻĀirani

In August, our Cook Island Partner launched a seabird-monitoring initiative across Rarotonga, Mangaia, and soon Atiu. The goal is to better understand the presence of seabirds through community capacity building and empowerment. Using acoustic 'song meters', participants captured calls of elusive petrels and shearwaters – including the Tahiti Petrel and Wedge-tailed Shearwater – and discovered three new species records on Rarotonga. A workshop, supported by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the National Environment Service, trained community members in deploying and interpreting acoustic data, building capacity for long-term conservation efforts.

EMPOWERING COMMUNITIES

Loma Santa becomes Bolivia’s largest Indigenous Protected Area under Conserva Aves

In Bolivia’s Beni region, Indigenous leadership and Conserva Aves joined forces to officially declare Loma Santa as a new protected area – the largest established so far under the initiative.

Covering 198,778 hectares, this vast territory is home to an exceptional 252 bird species, including emblematic species such as the Harpy Eagle and the Great Tinamou. Beyond biodiversity, the declaration is a milestone for Indigenous autonomy: five communities of the Multiethnic Indigenous Territory (TIM) - Mojeño-trinitario, Mojeño-ignaciano, T’simane, Yuracaré, and Movima – united to strengthen conservation through collective decision-making and ancestral governance.

This landmark recognition highlights the power of Indigenous self-determination in safeguarding biodiversity and culture across the Amazon.

Messina Strait bridge threatens bird migration

The Italian government has approved the construction of the world’s longest suspension bridge across the Strait of Messina – one of Europe’s most important bird migration corridors along the African-Eurasian flyway. Millions of raptors, bee-eaters, and other species funnel through this bottleneck every year, making the new bridge a deadly obstacle. Towers, cables, and lighting risk mass collisions and disorientation, while fragile marine and coastal habitats face irreversible damage. LIPU, our Italian Partner, has joined forces with other NGOs to file a complaint with the European Commission, urging the project to be halted before it devastates biodiversity.

Awai - Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter

The photo exhibition 'Awai - Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter' (In Between Moments of the Four Seasons) by Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado, Honorary President of BirdLife International, was held at the gallery 'Sankai Bian' in Nagano Prefecture from the 2nd to the 15th of August.

Ecuador hosts: second workshop on ecosystem services in KBAs

In late July, the town of Mindo, Ecuador, brought together government officials, community leaders, and local NGOs from the Chocó region for the second participatory workshop of the project 'Ecosystem Services in Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) under Climate Change Scenarios'.

Led by BirdLife International and funded by the Global Centre on Biodiversity for Climate, the initiative involves partners including UNEP-WCMC, Durham University, and Fundación Jocotoco, who are working to identify, measure, and value ecosystem services in the Chachi Territory and the Santiago, Cayapas-Canandé Rivers KBA using the TESSA Toolkit.

Building on a previous workshop held in southern Ecuador, this second gathering advanced efforts to protect key ecosystems through collaboration between local actors and global partners.

Palau hosts: second Inter-Island Biosecurity cohort workshop

In Palau, the INSPIRE project is strengthening biosecurity through the Inter-Island Biosecurity Cohort, made up of 12 staff from Kayangel State Government and Koror’s Department of Conservation and Law Enforcement. At the August workshop, nine members and youths from Ebiil Society joined sessions on invasive species monitoring, climate-resilient biosecurity, Gender, Equality, Disability and Soical Inclusion (GEDSI), and communication strategy.

A survey of 450 local community members found that 4 in 5 Palauans see invasive species as a serious threat to biodiversity and climate change. Backed by the Kiwa Initiative and delivered by our Partner the Palau Conservation Society, these efforts are driving action to protect Palau’s unique ecosystems. To address this threat, the community wants stronger biosecurity enforcement and inspections, as well as materials that will help raise awareness not only locally, but also with incoming tourists.

A crossover of Partners

Listen to Niall Hatch with Andy Pollard (BirdWatch Ireland) and Martin Anstee (Falklands Conservation), live from this year's Global Birdfair!

Together, they explore the unique biodiversity of the Falklands and surrounding South Atlantic islands, from windswept tussac grasslands to rugged coastal cliffs teeming with life. The conversation dives into the islands’ remarkable endemic bird species, including the Cobb’s Wren and Falkland Steamer Duck, and expands to cover the broader ecological richness of the region.

Publications

We published a new paper outlining a framework to evaluate human pressures within and around a Marine Protected Area (MPA), using existing available remote vessel-based data. It presents an achievable solution to support area-based management and monitoring, with particular relevance to remote sites, including those on the high seas.
We published a paper in Endangered Species Research reviewing the status of Arabian Bustard, showing it has undergone a substantial contraction in range and numbers over the last century with a very concerning outlook for its future prospects.
The BirdLife strategy for conservation of the Eastern part of the Central Asian Flyway (CAF) is now finalised (available soon on Hatch). For more information contact Anand Chaudhary ([email protected]).
The BirdLife Africa Report 2024 is now available in both English and French.
The second edition of the BirdLife São Tomé and Príncipe newsletter is now available in English and Portuguese. One of its highlights is the official launch of the EcoTéla Fund, an important milestone for São Tomé and Príncipe.

Thanks for being a part of the flock!

If you would like any more information on this month's news, please reach out to Alice Emsden.

Want to be featured in the next edition? Drop us an email at [email protected].

Controversial mining project in Tanzania’s Lake Natron halted﻿