Biodiversity Conservation in the Iberian West. Campanarios de Azaba Reserve.

The transnational project LIFE + Biodiversity Conservation in Western Iberia: Campanarios de Azaba Reserve of Fundación Naturaleza y Hombre (Project Coordinator), University of Alicante and University of Salamanca (Associated Beneficiaries), will preserve and improve the biodiversity of the 132. 878 ha of the Natura 2000 sites Campo de Azaba, Campo de Argañán (Spain) and Malcata (Portugal), composed of mature Mediterranean woodland, often pastureland, rocky cliffs, wooded pastures, extensive crops, river ecosystems and mid-mountain ranges covered with scrubland, all interspersed with private fenced and intensively used properties.

This objective will be achieved through the intervention – after the purchase of the “Campanarios” estate – in a 522-hectare reserve, centrally located in the large area, where an active integrated management is proposed in favour of the species with the greatest dispersal efficiency (birds, plants and insects), which will act as a supplier of biodiversity to the rest of the Natura 2000 site.
This project is being carried out thanks to the contribution of the European Community’s LIFE financial instrument and the following institutions are also participating as sponsors, supporting the initiative: the Mava Foundation, the Regional Government of Castile and León, Patrimonio Natural de Castilla y León, Fundación Biodiversidad, the Spanish Government through its Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs, Cementos Pórtland Valderrivas, Red Eléctrica de España and Obra Social Caja Madrid.

This project is also supported by the Countdown 2010 programme (IUCN), the ICNB (Portugal), Espeja Town Council and the Vulture Conservation Foundation.