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Develop the project 'where the owl lives' to conserve biodiversity in this special area of ​​protection of birds

The Department of Environment and Neighborhood Association for Sustainable Development Garruchal join forces to protect Altanaona saws and Escalona.

Now they will implement the plan entitled 'Action for the conservation and enhancement of biodiversity through the maintenance of municipal properties in the City Council special protection of birds Monte SpkrOn Valley and Sierras de Escalona.

Where the owl lives. "

This project will be carried out in two municipal properties, assigned on the model of land stewardship: the Los Porches and Los Ginovinos.

The estate of The Porches measures 22.5 hectares while the farm's Ginovinos in the heart of the Sierra de SpkrOn, occupies an area of ​​110 hectares of which 102 are forest and 8 are agricultural.

The SPA of action remains the highest density of owl worldwide known about 65 couples surveyed stable and reproductive success of about 90 chickens in spring 2009.

This property sits in an area threatened by, among others, the abandonment of traditional farming rainfed and ignorance of the population values, figures and conservation reasons.

This project pursues the conservation of agro-ecosystems of the SPA where the farms performance by keeping tasks and dissemination of agri-environmental values ​​with the same education program, environmental education and outreach for schoolchildren, farmers, users and general population of the municipality.

The project aims at different objectives included in the collaboration agreement signed between the two organizations:

- Strengthen biodiversity in both farm forestry and agricultural areas.

- Help the knowledge of the environment by the citizens of the natural values ​​of this protected area.

- To encourage environmental awareness to young people with environmental education activities.

- Fire prevention

- To improve the agricultural conditions of rainfed cultivation (almond, carob and olive trees) already in place and implementation of new cultivars of dry land.

- To promote the existence of wildlife species together in this way.

- Encourage local farmers to good agroforestry.

- Maintenance of the landscape.

- Properly manage existing water birth, so conducive to different types of wildlife habitat and create conditions conducive to the dispersal of amphibians.

- Create jobs for local people with multiple farming to develop.

1 .- Maintenance of agriculture and forestry.

Conservation of biodiversity and landscape: The abandonment of rural areas is a common problem in the Spanish nature conservation.

The lack of generational, small farm sizes due to the subdivisions made by changes in land use, crop yields the few recent years exacerbated by reductions in rainfall and the emergence of more profitable economic alternatives are causing the abandonment of rainfed farming, often producing a rapid transformation of irrigated agricultural land, where the activity focuses on the cultivation of citrus.

Through daily contact with farmers, it performs an informative work and approach of the information on conservation measures, agri-environment payments, grants preferential land included in Natura 2000 network, etc.., Always looking to encourage local farmers to good management and agro-forestry generational renewal.

This also allows you to collect folk knowledge and practices that are lost and are necessary to implement rain-fed agriculture and knowledge lost almost half that fail to transmit to new generations.

2 .- Fire prevention: Failure to remove wood (both agricultural and forest pruning) and abandonment of roads increases the plant dry matter accumulation and prevents access of fire fighting vehicles, both of great concern for the reasons significant increase in risk of forest fires.

In this sense it is very important to educate farmers how to burn wood with burning permits authorized and places and weather conditions needed to avoid many forest fires are caused by these bad practices performed.

Also carried out and encourage the removal of trimmings for ground through a contribution is very useful organic matter in these areas.

3 .- Education and environmental awareness: ADESGA been developing annual perception surveys to the users of the territory.

Their results allow the identification as a major weakness to preserve the limited knowledge of their forms of protection and low appreciation of the population due to being dry landscapes with low productivity and greenery.

The environment of the SPA part of "disadvantage" of being a semi-arid area where the absence of large formations of trees, erosive formations caused by the weather and the type of terrain, and generally do not cause dryness feelings of appreciation from the general population.

Despite the beauty of the landscape is perceived as an inhospitable environment which makes it difficult to foster attitudes of respect and appreciation that help conservation.

Farms incorporate conservation target, as is being done and on porches since 2007, an environmental education program aimed at schools and the general public, seeking to aid the understanding of the environment by the citizens of the values natural protected area and the reasons that led to their protection and to encourage environmental awareness to young people

4 .- Reducing Biodiversity loss: It is proposed to undertake a series of concrete actions to promote the environmental conditions of a set of species of particular interest: prey species, amphibians, carnivorous mammals and raptors.

These actions include:

• Maintenance of the old laundry in one of the farms.

• Improve agricultural almond, olive and carob.

• Installation of various amphibian breeding sites

• To promote access to safe water to all wildlife in general

• Create food and shelter with cereal crops to prey species, which creates the connection between hillsides corridors for many species of fauna (local green corridors).

• To promote organic farming

The aim is 1 .- Consolidate as a public space of high environmental value properly managed municipal properties of the SPA "Monte Valley and Sierras de SpkrOn and Escalona"

2 .- To influence a positive assessment of the population of the area for the territory: implementation of 40 educational talks in schools and 30 Field Trips in the two year project.

3 .- To strengthen the agricultural and environmental use in the area.

4 .- Direct benefit of the actions on the conservation of biodiversity.

5 .- Reduced risk of fire

6 .- Improved access by fire equipment repair roads.

7 .- The planting of rainfed cereal favors hunting wildlife due to improved habitat and increased potential for rabbit and partridge.

It also improves soil structure with the input of organic matter and reduce soil moisture loss in summer

8 .- Stocking prevent erosion risks and improve the biodiversity of the land.

9 .- The actions favor the existence of paths that combine environmental education with the beauty of a walk through a landscape representative of the agro ecosystem of the SPA, which may favor the existence of guided tours.

The total project cost is 45,000 euros, to be funded by the FEMP, since this project was winner of the Competition III projects for the enhancement of biodiversity.

Source: Ayuntamiento de Murcia