A 5,000-kilometre commute, guarded end to end: fifteen groups unite for one vulture

Every autumn, Egyptian vultures leave the Balkans and fly more than 5,000 kilometres to winter in Africa — a journey across some fifteen countries, any one of which can be the place the journey ends: a poisoned carcass here, a power line there. So the protection is going flyway-wide. Fifteen organisations from Europe, the Middle East and Africa have joined LIFE EV Safe Return, an EU-funded project coordinated by the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds. Sahara Conservation's part is Chad, a key wintering ground, where it will work with communities and authorities against poisoning and illegal killing while the partners guard the breeding cliffs at the other end. One bird, one road, fifteen countries of people who have agreed the road should be safe.

SDG 15 · Life on land — Mechanism: institutional program