Conservation of white storks (Ciconia ciconia) in Lithuania (LIFE531)
LIFE531 (Gandrai)
Project coordinator: Lithuanian Ornithological Society
Source of funding: EU
Project duration: 1 January 2009 – 21 December 2012
Project budget: EUR 2,425,168.00
Project title: Conservation of White Storks (Ciconia ciconia) in Lithuania (Project No LIFE07 NAT/LT/000531)
Project leader: Dr. Mindaugas Dagys (NRC Laboratory of Avian Ecology)
Project purpose: to ensure long-term conservation of White Storks in Lithuania. The researchers of the Nature Research Centre are involved in the performance of White Stork survey all over Lithuania. For this purpose, special methodology was worked out, a specially designed GIS database for data accumulation created and bird survey specialists trained. The inventory of White Stork nests in the territory of Lithuania was conducted in 2009–2010, and the collected inventory data are subject to computerization. Further, a comprehensive analysis of the dependence of habitat selection and breeding success of this species on various environmental and anthropogenic factors will be carried out. Provision of online access to the GIS database containing summarised information on the inventoried White Stork nests and their photos is another objective of the project. Other expected outcomes of the project include the preparation of a White Stork Species Action Plan and the publishing of a book on White Storks.
