Background The Yelkouan shearwater (Puffinus yelkouan), which is endemic to the Central and Eastern Mediterranean region, is listed in Annex I of the Birds Directive and Annex II of the Bern Convention, and accordingly receive special conservation measures across Europe. Due to drastic population declines the status of the Yelkouan shearwater was recently downgraded to ‘vulnerable’ according to IUCN criteria. More than 10% of the world’s Yelkouan shearwater population breeds in Malta. To date, BirdLife Malta and partners have made various efforts to understand and tackle the main threats causing the decline of the species both at land and at sea. The LIFE Yelkouan Shearwater project (LIFE06 NAT/MT/000097) secured the largest colony in Malta, and the LIFE+ Malta Seabird project (LIFE10 NAT/MT/000090) helped identify marine SPA sites for the species and other seabirds. In the light of previous achievements, it has become necessary to prepare the ground for a long-term recovery of the species in the central Mediterranean islands of Malta. Objectives The LIFE Arcipelagu Garnija project aims to: Ensure the long-term recovery of the species in the central Mediterranean islands of Malta, by increasing the knowledge of colony sites, number of breeding pairs and reproductive output, and prevalent terrestrial threats; Reduce the direct and indirect human-caused threats by managing them through informed concrete conservation actions; Increase the number of breeding pairs by approximately 10% and the reproductive output of the majority of the breeding colonies by 25%; and Tackle the targets of relevant policies, such as Malta’s National Strategy and Biodiversity Action Plan (2014-2020), Marine Strategy Framework Directive, Birds Directive and the Integrated Monitoring Programme of the Barcelona Convention. Expected results: Reduced threats for the 13 nesting colonies and increased reproductive output at the target sites; Decreased disturbance of the nesting colonies, thanks to the better attitude and behaviour of boat owners and operators, and of other users responsible for the organic littering of the target areas; Improved policy such as that on light pollution and the management of an offshore island (Comino) that will be used as a sanctuary for Yelkouan shearwaters; and National Species Action Plan for the Yelkouan shearwater in Malta.