BIODIVERSITY

In 2001, we concluded the integral restoration project of the Laguna Primera de Palos, close to our site in Huelva, in collaboration with the Junta de Andalucía. The project has improved the biodiversity of the area and its recognition as a Wetland of International Importance (Ramsar), Natural Site, and Site of Community Importance. Since then, we have undertaken numerous conservation, research, public use, and outreach actions, which make this natural area an important refuge for endangered species and a good example of the sustainable balance between industrial and agricultural development and nature conservation.

In 2009 the Madrevieja Environmental Station (EAM) was created in the surroundings of our San Roque site. Recovery activities, such as the creation of two lagoons and two temporary ponds that have supported the appearance of different species of mammals, amphibians and reptiles, and the numerous conservation and species reinsertion tasks have made EAM a leading location and an important shelter area for numerous species in the area, enhancing and improving biodiversity in the entire region of Campo de Gibraltar.

This multidisciplinary research allows us to measure the extent of the damage that the invasive alga Rugulopterix okamurae is causing along the entire coast of the Strait of Gibraltar and surrounding areas. This species is having a serious impact on native biodiversity, while also affecting the fishing, municipal, and tourism sectors. The objective of the project is to monitor the changes in the species and identify its strengths and weaknesses in order to implement an action protocol with possible measures for eradication, containment, or mitigation of the problems it is causing.

The main objective of the Life Blue Natura project is to understand and quantify the carbon stocks and CO2 sequestration rates of seagrass and tidal marsh habitats in Andalusia and to explore options for funding blue carbon sink-habitat conservation and restoration projects among existing funds for climate change mitigation and adaptation.

This project, carried out on the coasts of Cadiz and Huelva, aims to promote the conservation and rescue of sea turtles through collaboration with the fishing sector, such as the loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) and the leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), which are classified as Vulnerable to Extinction according to the red list of the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). The project will also analyze the interaction of turtles with marine debris and the data obtained will be made available to the competent administrations. 

We have carried out a research project in the Areas of Influence of our department in Casanare focused on learning more about the area’s biodiversity. In 2016 we published the book “Aves de las Sabanas del Casanare,” (Birds of the Casanara Savannah) where we included part of the project’s results. In addition, during the study, we carried out activities to raise awareness among local inhabitants about the conservation of natural resources.

Montagu's harrier conservation project, which is aimed at protecting and supporting the species in the area where our Alijar II wind farm is located in Jerez. The project is focused on hacking, or controlled field breeding, which is considered one of the most effective methods of restoring certain bird populations.