Anna Giordano (born in 1965 [1] ) is an Italian conservationist. A trained ornithologist with a doctorate in natural sciences, Giordano is today a leader of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in Sicily and a respected environmentalist across Europe, [2] and she won the Goldman Prize in 1998. [3] She's known because of her work for the protection of wild birds and against the damages that the bridge over the Strait of Messina would cause in the environment. [4]
She joined the Italian League for Bird Protection (LIPU) at the age of six. In 1981, after seeing 17 birds shot out of the sky by poachers shooting from cement bunkers, she committed herself to the fight against poachers. Challenging men in the Sicilian male-dominated society where there was a long tradition of hunting migrating raptors, created open hostility toward Giordano. When she began badgering police, forest rangers and local authorities to do something about the illegal killing, she was not taken seriously. But she persisted and, in 1984, began organizing camps of young people from all throughout the world who would gather each spring to observe the migrations and inform police when they saw poachers at work. [3] [5]
The hunters retaliated with threats and intimidation. In 1986 she narrowly escaped the firebombing of her car, and later poachers broke into her house and mailed her a dead falcon with a threatening note. After this and another incident where she and a group of young people monitoring the migration were shot at, local law enforcement officers began to aid Giordano in her efforts to stop rampant poaching. [3] [5]
She declared that in 1984, during the first camp, they counted about 3,100 raptors and storks, and 1,100 shots — and in 2000, just a little bit less than 35,000 raptors and storks, and 5 shots. [6]
Between 1996 and 2003, Anna Giordano was the Director of the Natural Reserve Saline di Trapani and Paceco, established by the Sicilian Region and managed by WWF. [2]
Nowadays, Giordano leads the WWF team involved with the review of environmental impact assessments for development proposals in the European Union and Italy. Between 2007 and 2008, she was involved with the Environmental Impact Assessment and Strategic Environmental Assessment established by the Italian Ministry for the Environment. [2] In 2021 she has won the environmental Italian prize "Luisa Minazzi - Ambientalista dell'anno".
A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture. Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and South America and consist of seven identified species, all belonging to the Cathartidae family. A particular characteristic of many vultures is a bald, unfeathered head. This bare skin is thought to keep the head clean when feeding, and also plays an important role in thermoregulation.
Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates. In addition to speed and strength, these predators have keen eyesight for detecting prey from a distance or during flight, strong feet with sharp talons for grasping or killing prey, and powerful, curved beaks for tearing off flesh. Although predatory birds primarily hunt live prey, many species also scavenge and eat carrion.
The Strait of Messina is a narrow strait between the eastern tip of Sicily and the western tip of Calabria in Southern Italy. It connects the Tyrrhenian Sea to the north with the Ionian Sea to the south, within the central Mediterranean. At its narrowest point, between Torre Faro and Villa San Giovanni, it is 3.1 km (1.9 mi) wide. At the city of Messina, it is 5.1 km (3.2 mi) wide. The strait's maximum depth is about 250 m (820 ft).
Bird migration is a seasonal movement of birds between breeding and wintering grounds that occurs twice a year. It is typically from north to south or from south to north. Migration is inherently risky, due to predation and mortality.
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The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States. WWF is the world's largest conservation organization, with over five million supporters worldwide, working in more than 100 countries and supporting around 3,000 conservation and environmental projects. They have invested over $1 billion in more than 12,000 conservation initiatives since 1995. WWF is a foundation with 65% of funding from individuals and bequests, 17% from government sources and 8% from corporations in 2020.
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