BirdLife Secures Grant to Restore Key Migratory Bird Wetlands in Kenya and Ethiopia
BirdLife International has secured a multi-year grant from the Nando and Elsa Peretti Foundation to support flyways conservation efforts across Eastern Africa over the next three years. The funding will focus on restoring two critical wetland sites along the African-Eurasian Flyway - Lake Elementaita in Kenya's Great Rift Valley and Lake Ziway in Ethiopia's Central Rift Valley - both of which serve as vital resting, feeding and breeding grounds for migratory birds. Lake Elementaita, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Ramsar-listed wetland, hosts major breeding colonies of Great White Pelicans and Lesser Flamingos, while Lake Ziway, covering over 440 square kilometres, supports more than 20,000 water birds and the livelihoods of approximately two million people.
Both sites face mounting threats from pollution, agricultural expansion, infrastructure development and climate change, prompting urgent intervention. Through the grant, BirdLife Partners - Nature Kenya and the Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society - will implement on-the-ground conservation measures, strengthen biodiversity data collection and build capacity among local communities and conservation organisations. The African-Eurasian Flyway is used by more than two billion migratory birds across 500-plus species, making the protection of its Eastern African sites significant not only for wildlife but for the nature-based tourism potential these ecosystems support across the region.
Source: Modern Ghana
