The LIFE Cerceta Pardilla project has achieved one of its main objectives: the signing of 15 land stewardship agreements to carry out various actions aimed at the recovery and conservation of the marbled teal. This milestone was reached following the recent signing of a new agreement between the Southeast Naturalists Association (ANSE) and the owners of a wetland located in the municipality of Trebujena, Cádiz. This is a wetland restored by the Andalusian Regional Government, covering nearly 150 hectares on the left bank of the Guadalquivir River. It holds high ecological potential for the recovery of the species and other threatened waterbirds.
All actions will be implemented following the criteria established in the “Manual of Good Practices for Managing Marbled Teal Habitat,” developed by the LIFE project.
NETWORK OF PROTECTED AREAS UNDER VOLUNTARY AGREEMENTS
This wetland becomes part of a growing network of stewarded areas accounting over 2,050 hectares, which includes key wetlands in the Valencian Community, Region of Murcia, Andalusia, and Madrid. This network involves conservation organizations, public entities, and private landowners, reinforcing a collaborative model based on voluntary agreements that ensures long-term commitment to proper habitat and species management.
Land stewardship represents an effective conservation tool to engage private landowners in managing critical habitats for the species, thus enabling the compatibility of their activities with the continuation of conservation efforts once the project concludes.
To date, 15 land stewardship agreements have been formalized under the LIFE Cerceta Pardilla project, all sharing the common goal of contributing to the conservation of the species and the preservation and enhancement of its habitat. ANSE has signed agreements in Andalusia with two livestock farmers in the Brazo del Este Natural Area (Seville), with the association SASTIPEM THAJ MESTAPEM at the Gosque lagoon (Seville), with the SERBAL Association at the Ribera de la Algaida (Almería), with Marítima de Sales at the Cetina salt flat (Cádiz), and the most recent one in Trebujena, also in Cádiz.
Key agreements have also been signed in the Valencian Community, including four with the organization Acció Ecologista Agró in different areas of the Marjal de Almenara, as well as another in Elche (Alicante) with the Friends of the Southern Alicante Wetlands Association (AHSA) at the La Manzanilla lagoon. In the Community of Madrid, ANSE collaborates with the Naumanni Association at the Porcal lagoon, while in Murcia, an agreement has been reached with the Mazarrón Town Council.
Additionally, the Andalusian Regional Government has signed an agreement with the Andalusian Hunting Federation and the Lebrija Hunting Society for the management of the Lebrija marshes and the Don Melendo reservoir (Seville). Lastly, SEO/BirdLife and the Gaditana Society of Natural History have formalized a joint agreement to conserve two restored mining areas in the municipality of Jerez de la Frontera (Cádiz).
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.
