This initiative arises as a result of the workshop Coordinated Actions to Combat the Poaching of Waterfowl in the Guadalquivir Marshes, held in Seville within the framework of the LIFE Cerceta Pardilla Project.
During that meeting, which took place in February and brought together specialized technicians from the Regional Government of Andalusia, representatives of the Fundación Biodiversidad (coordinator of the LIFE Cerceta Pardilla Project), technicians from the Andalusian Environment and Water Agency (a public enterprise), police bodies, and representatives of the Andalusian hunting sector, participants agreed on the need to establish a coordinated and operational response to this problem, which is present in the Lower Guadalquivir river.
This wetland is one of the most important in Europe in terms of biodiversity and ecological processes. It is also a strategic site for the breeding of the marbled teal (Marmaronetta angustirostris), a species listed as critically endangered in Spain.
COORDINATION AND OPERABILITY
The new coordination structure is made up of the threepolice bodies with relevant jurisdiction: the Nature Protection Service of the Civil Guard (SEPRONA), the National Police assigned to the Andalusian region, and Environmental Agents of the Regional Government of Andalusia, along with the Environmental Prosecutor’s Office. It also includes the collaboration of the General Subdirectorate for Terrestrial and Marine Biodiversity of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), and the Andalusian Hunting Federation.
The Technical Committee is designed to be not only operational but also strategic at the regional level, with clear communication channels. This will allow for the planning of preventive campaigns, the definition of action protocols, and development of coordinated actions during sensitive periods for waterfowl.
This initiative adds to the set of measures promoted by the LIFE Cerceta Pardilla Project to improve the conservation status of this critically endangered species. Combating poaching is considered key, as it represents one of the main threats to the success of the species’ recovery.
THE LIFE CERCETA PARDILLA
The LIFE Cerceta Pardilla project develops a set of research, conservation, governance and awareness-raising actions to strengthen the status of marbled teal populations in the natural environment, improve the status of wetlands and scientific knowledge of the species.
In this project, coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, the participating partners are the ministry itself via the Segura River Basin Authority and Tragsatec, the Andalusian Government (via the Regional Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment and the Environment and Water Agency), the Valencia Regional Government (via the Regional Ministry for Environment, Infrastructure and Territory), the Murcia Regional Government (via the Regional Ministry for the Environment, Mar Menor, Universities and Research), as well as the non-governmental organisations SEO/BirdLife and ANSE. The project is supported by the LIFE Program of the European Union and the Directorate-General for Water.
