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Articles in ‘Conservation’
March 14th, 2010
Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, (Poza de la Sal, March 14, 1928), the great Spanish naturalist and broadcaster, died 30 years ago today. He was killed in a helicopter accident while filming in Alaska on his birthday March 14, 1980.
He was an expert in falconry and animal behavior and spent many years studying wolves, but above all he was a great communicator who captivated Spain in the 1970’s, doing more than anybody to promote natural history among the general public. He is best known for the highly successful and influential series El Hombre y la Tierra (1975–1980), which you can watch online here. Millions of homes in Spain were captivated by the series, and there are possibly apocryphal tales of the streets being empty when the episodes were broadcast. The series and his other work played no small part in the change in attitude towards wildlife in general and wolves in particular. Rodríquez de la Fuente used wolves he had raised himself from cubs living in a semi-wild fenced estate for the film. They were different times with inferior cameras than today. But, for all its trickery, the episode on el lobo still stand out as superb and beautiful piece of nature documentary and holds a rightful place in contemporary Spanish folk memory. And his work inspired a whole generation of young Spanish naturalists who work in nature conservation today.
The legacy of his work is continued with the Fundación Félix Rodríguez .
Conservation, history | Tags: El Hombre y La Tierra, Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente biography|
November 26th, 2009
The Great Mountain Corridor is an idea to create a vast ecological corridor connecting the Cantabrian Mountains, the Pyrenees and the Alps, and possibly eventually, the Balkans, along which wolves, bears and other animals could roam relatively unhindered.
The GMC is a 1300-kilometre swathe of land connecting the Cantabrian mountains in Spain to the Italian Alps via the Pyrenees and Massif Central in France. It might even be extended into the Carpathian mountains of eastern Europe. “It’s not unrealistic to think that in 20 years there could be a good corridor between the Iberian Peninsula and the Balkans,” says Miquel Rafa of Obra Social Caixa Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain, a charitable organisation that is promoting the project. Some of the land in the proposed corridor is already protected, and Rafa’s aim is to fill in the gaps. Over the past decade, his organisation has spent 8 million euro buying 80 square kilometres of land between the Cantabrians and the Pyrenees. He estimates that only another 80 square kilometres is needed to complete that part of the corridor. There are already success stories to report. Last year, a wolf from the Cantabrian mountains was spotted in the Pyrenees, not far from one of many packs that arrived there from the French Alps around 10 years ago – the first wolves in the Pyrenees since the 1930s. These packs made a hazardous crossing of the Rhone valley, parts of which are industrialised. It will be remarkable if groups from the Cantabrians and French Alps meet and breed in the Pyrenees, says Rafa, as the populations have been separated for over 800 years. To win local support, Rafa and colleagues have also provided shepherds with Pyrenean mountain dogs, a muscular breed that will defend livestock against wolves. More here from New Scientist article nabbed here “Megaconservation: Saving wildernesses on a giant scale”
See also Territori i Paisatge here
Cantabrian mountains, Conservation, Pyrenees | Tags: corredor ecologico cantabrico, Megacorridors|
July 27th, 2009
There are currently a million homes for sale in the Mediterranean coast of Europe, half of which are in Spain. Phantom urbanizaciones extend all along the coast, with nobody to buy. 997,652 homes lie empty throughout Spain. The boom is over, but the coast will never recover until geology rends human greed and folly meaningless.
See also this article in El País on the end of the urbanisation boom of the Spanish Mediterranean and its effects.
Conservation, Spanish coast | Tags: End of boom in Spain, End of the property boom in Spain, How many properties are for sale in Spain?, Urbanisation of the Spanish Mediterranean|
July 14th, 2009
According to a new EU study reported in El Mundo, Spain has not determined the status of two-thirds of its habitats. The study looked at 1,182 species and 216 habitat types between 2001-2006.
Spain is the EU country which has provided least data, and it has no data for 64% of its habitats and for 44% of species despite this being against EU law.
Conservation | |
June 15th, 2009
Environmental groups are planning a large demonstration in Talavera de la Reina on 20th June to campaign for the recovery of the longest river in Iberia, the Tajo (Tagus).
Thanks to Damien Martin of the excellent Wild Spain for bringing this to my attention. He notes here:
The rally…seeks to bring attention to the fact that 80% of the Tagus is siphoned off to fuel industrial agriculture and urban development in the Spanish Mediterranean regions of Murcia, Alicante and Almería (fruit and veg for export, golf courses for ex-pats and tourists) and that the small portion which finally flows into Portugal is heavily polluted with effluent from Madrid.
The Tagus Network (Red del Tajo) have produced this PDF in English:
All Spanish and Portuguese children are taught that the Tagus, the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula, has its source in the Albarracín Mountains of Spain and runs westwards for over 1000 km, before flowing into the Atlantic next to the Portuguese capital, Lisbon. Sadly this schoolbook statement is currently fiction or, to be exact, only 20% true. The fact is 80% of the Tagus is siphoned off to fuel industrial agriculture and urban development in the Spanish Mediterranean. What remains of the natural mid and lower reaches of the Tagus are a shadow of their former selves, heavily polluted, and, in places, little more than open sewers. Read full text in English: Battle of the Tagus: Citizens of Spain and Portugal unite to save their greatest river
Castilla y León, Conservation, Iberian rivers | Tags: longest river in the Iberian Peninsula, River pollution in Spain, River Tagus, River Tajo, Talavera de la Reina|
May 26th, 2009
Spain has been awarded with two new Biosphere Reserves: the island of Fuerteventura and its surrounding waters and Gerês-Xures, a natural area straddling Portugal and Orense, Spain. Spain now has 40 such reserves. In the photo, Dunas de Corrajeo, in northern Fuerteventura.
El Mundo
Canaries, Conservation, On Spain | Tags: Biosphere Reserves in Spain, Dunas de Corrajeo, Gerês-Xures|
February 19th, 2009
According to a new report by Oceana, if Spain is to meet the deadline in three years imposed by the United Nations to protect at least 10% of the world’s marine areas, it needs to rapidly increase the paltry 0.5% currently protected. This means protecting almost 65 km2 a day.
The designation of new protected marine areas such as Seco de los Olivos (Andalusia), the seamounts of the Mallorca channel (Balearic Islands), the canyons of Palamos and Creus (Catalonia), the Seco de Palos (facing Murcia) and Cape Nao (region of Valencia), along with the expansion of other already protected areas such as Columbretes, Alborán and Doñana, are some of Oceana’s proposals in this report concerning approximately 50 areas in the Spanish Mediterranean and adjacent Atlantic waters….“Not only should new areas be afforded protection, but also many of the existing areas should be expanded. Nearly half of Spain’s marine protected areas barely reach a surface area of one square kilometre, making them inefficient for conserving certain habitats and species,” affirms Ricardo Aguilar, director of research and projects for Oceana in Europe and campaign director on board the Ranger.
Conservation, Spanish seas | Tags: Alborán, Cape Nao, Columbretes, Seco de los Olivos, Seco de Palos, Spain’s marine protected areas|
February 3rd, 2009
According SEO/BirdLife, the wetlands and freshwater lakes of Spain are being destroyed at a critical rate, putting wildlife and habitats under extreme pressure. In a statement released to mark International Wetlands Day, SEO has condemned the loss of 68 percent of Spain’s freshwater lakes and 58 percent of the country’s coastal wetlands (over the last??). They state that these key conservation areas “are a mere testimony to what they were in the past.” In a similar line, Ecologists in Action blamed “industrial contamination, development, and waste dumping” for the loss of this essential habitat.
Conservation, On Spain, Wetlands | Tags: Ecologists in Action, SEO/Birdlife|
January 28th, 2009
A survey published today in El Pais suggests that there is a growing acceptance in Spanish society of the need to protect nature. Despite the economic crisis, the survey found that 60% of Spaniards would pay a tax to protect nature. 80% stated that they were “very” or “quite” worried about the state of Spain’s natural heritage, and 73% believed it was necessary to intervene to protect endangered animals. The survey was carried out by the Fundación Félix Rodríguez.
Some more results according to the study:
- 4 out of 10 Spaniards would be prepared to change their own consumer and leisure habits to help conserve the country’s natural heritage and biodiversity.
- 8 out of 10 are in favour of the promotion of “ecological” agriculture.
- Spanish people see a very strong connection between rural development and the conservation of biodiversity.
- 80% say that progress and development of rural areas will guarantee the conservation of nature and the protection of natural species, in addition to improving the life of people living in cities.
- Most believe that that the recovery of endangered species will help increase the value of rural areas. This is linked to the results showing that the abandonment of the countryside is seen as the third most important cause of loss of biodiversity (17%,) after pollution (28%) and building (30%) and ahead of climate change (16%).
- Because of this more than half of those interviewed (52%) said that they would prepared to pay a tax to promote development and progress in rural areas. However, society is more concerned by the negative consequences of environmental degradation than for nature in itself. People stated that the loss of species would affect them directly in terms of health (31%) and in terms of food quality (31%). Read in El Pais
The survey is line with the ideas promoted by the RUNA project of the Fundación Félix Rodríguez which in some capacity I hope to be involved with.
RUNA seeks to combine rural life with the natural world, and hand back the custody of the latter to the people who live in isolated rural areas, and who, by accident or design, over the centuries managed to foster such a rich biodiversity. This is to be a partnership between those who live and work in the rural world (farmers, hunters, foresters, etc) and those who work in natural history (biologists, wardens and environmentalists), turning biodiversity into an economic asset which can foster sustainable development and bring young people back.
Conservation, RUNA, Rural Spain, Social trends in Spain | Tags: attitudes towards conservation in Spain, attitudes towards nature and wildlife in Spain, changing attitudes in Spain, Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente Foundation, Fundación Félix Rodríguez, RUNA|
December 14th, 2008
The Basque Iberian wolf group, Grupo Lobo de Euskadi, is organising a couple of days of talks on the 19th and 20th of December, 2008 in Vitoria. This will be the fourth of these meetings, reuniting wolf experts in Spain, and will be attended by naturalists, biologists, ecologists and farmers as well as being open to members of the public. One of the country’s foremost wolf experts, Carlos Sanz, will be among the contributors and the main focus of this year’s meeting will be given over to the national wolf conservation movements and their opinions on the various wolf management strategies of Spain’s autonomous communties. Previous meetings have included themes such as the biology of the Iberian wolf and problems relating to wolves and livestock. Contact details for applying to attend are included on the link below. It promises to be interesting!
The programme can be downloaded here on pdf.
Basque Country, Conservation, Wolves | Tags: Carlos Sanz, Grupo Lobo de Euskadi, Iberian wolf and Spain's conservation movement, talks in Vitoria|
November 7th, 2008
The Spanish government is planning to give protection to some 2,900km of 357 still-unspoilt stretches of rivers, involving initially the creation of a Catálogo Nacional de Reservas Fluviales, which put a stop to any dam construction, waste disposal or extraction in these areas. The idea comes from a proposal by Ecologistas en Acción who note “It would have a huge importance because it would create biological corridors in almost all mountain ranges and would save what is left of rivers, which are probably the most altered ecosystems by humans.”
Conservation, Geography, Iberian rivers, On Spain | Tags: Ecologistas en Acción|
September 30th, 2008
Newly hatched turtle being measured (CSIC)
246 eggs of loggerhead turtles (tortuga boba – Caretta caretta) have hatched in the last few days on a beach in Cabo de Gata, Almeria. The eggs were taken from Cabo Verde, where a third of the world’s population of Caretta caretta lives, and form part of a reintroduction programme of the Junta de Andalucía, CSIC and the Canarian goverment (Loggerhead turtles in Fuerteventura). They have been taken to a reintoriduction sent which will raise them for the first few months to reduce mortality rates. El Mundo
It will take at least 15 years to be able to begin to measure the success of the project when hopefully some of those turtles hatched will return to the same beach as adults. Small populations of loggerhead turtle in the Mediterranean exist in the Turkey and Greece.
See also:
Almeria, Andalucia, Conservation, Spanish seas, reptiles & amphibians | Tags: Almeria, Cabo de Gata, Caretta caretta, Loggerhead turtle|
September 14th, 2008
The Spanish government has announced a plan to plant 45 million trees of local Iberian, Balearic and Canarian species with the aim of promoting “Spain’s natural heritage”. The plan involves reforesting more than 61,000 hectares, revitalising ecosystems and creating some 3,000 jobs, particularly in rural areas. The planting will be done in public lands between 2009 and 2012 and will require an investment of 90 million euros. The programme is backed by the a new forest fire prevention plan
The director of Greenpeace España, Juan López Uralde, states that the announcement “is a first step but is insuficient to put a stop to desertification”. El Mundo
See also
Conservation, Spanish forests, desertification | Tags: Greenpeace, reforestation in Spain, tree planting in Spain, uan López Uralde|
September 3rd, 2008
800 Loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta – tortuga boba) eggs are to be buried today in La Playa de Cofete de Fuerteventura in an attempt to reintroduce the species in the Canary Islands. The eggs have been brought from the Cape Verde. 200 more are to be sent to the Centro de Recuperación de Especies in Taliarte, in Gran Canaria, and 400 to the Estación Biológica in Doñana, Andalucia. Loggerhead turtles disappeared from the Canary Islands some 300 years ago. It wil take at least 15 years to be able to begin to measure the success of the project when hopefully some of those turtles hatched will return to the same beach as adults. Terra
More on loggerhead turtles (Wikipedia – above photo) which notes that the genus name “Caretta” is a latinization of the French “caret”, meaning turtle, tortoise, or sea turtle. Small populations of loggerhead turtle in the Mediterranean exist in the Turkey and Greece.
See also: Loggerhead turtles hatch in Almeria (October 21st, 2007)
Canaries, Conservation, Spanish seas, reptiles & amphibians | Tags: Caretta caretta, Fuerteventura, Loggerhead turtle, Playa de Cofete|
August 15th, 2008
Interesting news from Galicia. An environmental collective, Fegama, are calling for a more positive and effective management of the Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus) in their region by encouraging man’s coexistence with the species rather than continuing with the age-old battle against it. They suggest that instead of the present, negative method of paying farmers compensation for damages to livestock caused by wolves (often a long, drawn-out affair), that a system of subsidising farmers in areas shared by the wolves would be more beneficial to both. Subsidies would be used to pay for preventative measures such as livestock guardian dogs and fencing to protect flocks from the Galician wolf population of some 70 family packs. They are going to start a campaign of education to dispel the fear caused by myths surrounding the animal and to promote awareness of the important role that wolves play in the region’s biodiversity by keeping down numbers of their natural prey, for example Wild boar and Roe deer, two species that are potentially destructive. As always, prevention is better than cure.
News from La Voz de Galicia
Read about Iberian wolf conservation management on IberiaNature forum
Conservation, Farming, Galicia, Wolves | Tags: Fegama, subsidies, wolf predation prevention|
The rainfall records for Spain keep tumbling. According to the latest provisional figures 
I’ve just come across 
Three Iberian lynxes of the captive breeding programme have died in recent weeks from a renal disease. Lynxes in the wild are thought not to suffer from this disease.