The death of a young griffon vulture following a collision with a wind turbine in the Monte Grighine park, near Villaurbana, draws attention to a topic destined to become increasingly important in Sardinia: how to support the energy transition while reducing its impact on biodiversity. This is a challenge addressed by the Life Safe for Vultures project, which employs an integrated approach involving the University of Sassari, the Forestas Agency, the Sardinia Regional Forestry and Environmental Protection Corps, E-Distribuzione, and the Vulture Conservation Foundation, combining scientific expertise, land management, monitoring, conservation, and knowledge of energy infrastructure.
"The transition to renewable energy is necessary, but it is not without impacts on the landscape and wildlife . The issue is not to pit energy against conservation, but to have the knowledge necessary to choose where and how to build infrastructure, prevent conflicts, and intervene with appropriate mitigation measures," says Fiammetta Berlinguer, professor at the University of Sassari and scientific director of the project. " Mortality associated with energy infrastructure is the main documented anthropogenic cause for the griffon vulture in Sardinia. The risk affects various types of infrastructure and is addressed by combining animal monitoring, fieldwork, data collection and analysis, prevention, and mitigation interventions." Meanwhile, the population has grown to over 500 individuals, and its distribution range has expanded . "Population growth is one of the most important results of conservation efforts carried out in recent years, but a larger population, using a larger portion of land, comes into contact more frequently with human infrastructure," is the partners' premise. "This requires anticipating conflicts through updated data, monitoring, and appropriate land-use planning," is the challenge. As the University of Verona explains, satellite telemetry, fieldwork, recovery, analysis of mortality events, and analysis of distribution space allow Life Safe for Vultures to reconstruct the animals' movements, track range expansion, and identify areas where the presence of infrastructure may pose a higher risk.
