Viana do Castelo Chamber advances with project to conserve habitats and birdlife: Gazeta Rural

Viana do Castelo City Council is starting a project, which will run for three years, focused not only on habitat conservation, but also on bird species that nest in Spain and Portugal, mainly in Natura 2000 areas.

The Municipality is a partner with the Deputation of Pontevedra and the entity SEO/Bird Life, in the development of the “Biocosteiro” project, target of financing from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

In addition to more concrete intervention actions in the territory, such as the elimination of invasive species in certain areas, a strong awareness and communication campaign will be carried out. At the same time, the aim is to create a responsible and sustainable tourism management model as a way of minimizing the impact of humans on areas that are already very sensitive.

Assessing the cross-border space, from Pontevedra to Viana do Castelo, there is a high level of heritage, cultural, ethnographic, landscape and environmental richness.

This territory located in the European Union Ecological Network – Natura 2000 Network, where there is growing tourist development, shares space with several species of birds, some migratory, others in a protected situation or cataloged as endangered, vulnerable or threatened. The territory is also marked by the presence of invasive exotic flora species that end up putting local biodiversity at risk and transforming ecosystems.

In this way, protection and conservation work will be developed comprehensively, with full collaboration between the public and private sectors, through the proposal and development of best conservation and tourism management practices.

In Viana do Castelo, the Environment and Climate Change Division of the City Council, through the Environmental Monitoring and Interpretation Center (CMIA= and the Forestry Technical Office, will continue to develop the protection of the Pied Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) and the control of invasive exotic vegetation, namely through the implementation of techniques recommended for combating the beach weevil (Carpobrotus edulis) and the spike acacia (Acacia longifolia), both invasive species with great expression in the territory.

With the challenges that the planet faces, increasingly significant, namely the loss of biodiversity due to various factors, this project also meets the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda, 11|Sustainable Cities and Communities, 13| Climate Action, 14|Protect Life on Earth and 17|Partnerships to Implement Objectives.