SEO/BirdLife was able to finalize the acquisition of a little more than one hectare of ttraditional vineyard cultivation on dry land in the Doñana region, thanks to the donation of 341 people who collaborated in a crowdfunding campaign.
The objective of this purchase is to protect the habitat of some of the last red-tailed cardinals (Cercotrichas galactotes) of Spain, betting “on the conservation of traditional agricultural models of Doñana and the biodiversity associated with them, fully aligning with measures to support rainfed agriculture, including the Framework of Actions for sustainable territorial development of Donana promoted by the Ministry of Ecological Transition.
Selfless collaboration
Asunción Ruíz, executive director of SEO/BirdLife, appreciated citizens’ support for this action, saying that “we are at a moment where society is crying out to have nature solve biodiversity loss and address the climate emergency.
For Ruiz, “this action is possible thanks to the selfless collaboration of all the people who participated in the purchase of the property. thanks to her we will continue to carry out demonstration actions which reflect the importance of traditional agroecosystems as a source of ecosystem services in the Doñana environment.
Showcasing the arid vineyard
The NGO emphasizes that the traditional dryland vineyard is part of the cultural heritage of the villages of the Huelva countryside and to lose him would be to lose part of his identity.
These strains are adapted to harsh local climatic conditionsthey consume little water and their long, strong roots protect the soil from erosion.
It is therefore a commitment for the future to conserve this crop and make it profitable, while contributing to improving the habitat of species linked to these environments, such as azacola, one of the most emblematic and endangered species associated with the vineyard.
SEO/BirdLife rcalls for greater involvement of public administrations work at all levels to defend the unique character of this traditional culture in the Doñana environment and make it an engine of local development.
The gathering at Doñana
In 2013, SEO/BirdLife launched a project to study the biodiversity associated with traditional dryland vineyards in the Doñana National Park environment, focusing its efforts on the reddish witchbird.
This species, cataloged In danger of extinction according to the Red Book of Birds of Spain, it is closely linked to this culture and practically absent in the protected area. It is for this reason that this bird linked to agricultural ecosystems was declared Bird of the Year in 2022.
The traditional dryland vineyard is a crop adapted to local climatic characteristics and managed using traditional methods in a sustainable manner.
Land abandonment
More than 40 winegrowers are collaborating with SEO/BirdLife to protect the biodiversity of a culture characteristic of the Mediterranean regions which It must be valued as part of the cultural and environmental heritage of Doñana.
However, the expansion of irrigated red fruit crops has caused The area planted with vines saw a sharp decline between 1983 and 2008going from 14,700 cultivated hectares to just under 5,000 due to the voluntary abandonment due to low profitability and the policies of uprooting vines encouraged by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
Currently, the area of arid vineyards in the Doñana region does not exceed 2,600 hectares. For SEO/BirdLife, “the disappearance of this important agroecosystem This would be an irreparable loss for the protected space “and would lead to the more than probable extinction of the wild hunter in the province of Huelva, thus losing one of the best populations in the entire Iberian Peninsula.”
The decline of the tailgater
The Iberian population of this insectivorous bird is the largest in Europe and according to the latest national census, carried out in 2020, it would be composed of approximately 17,000 individualsof which western Andalusia is home to 71%.
Censuses show a dramatic population reduction for the whole of Spain, 94.8%, which indicates that azacola meets the criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to be classified Endangered.
The threat that affects red-tailed grasshopper populations in Spain more generally is linked to the intensification of cultivation, which implies the transition from dry to irrigatedgreater use of phytosanitary products, more mechanized and more frequent tasks and a reduction in grass cover.
Land concentration
In addition, the concentration of land leads to the loss of the traditional mosaic of cultures and a homogenization of the landscape with a reduction of boundaries and weed vegetation.
With this purchase made in the Doñana region with the collaboration of donors through a crowdfunding campaign, SEO/BirdLife intends to contribute create a stable population in the Protected Natural Area zone. To do this, annual monitoring of the species will be carried out and agro-environmental measures benefiting the species will be implemented.
Carlos Davila, head of SEO/BirdLife in Doñana, concludes, with reference to those who contributed to this acquisition, that “thanks to your work, thanks to your contributions, the traditional dry land vineyard continues, around the protected space, in an area of capital importance“, is an incredible space for the reddish arbor, a species in danger of extinction, whose continuity in Doñana is seriously affected by the disappearance of the vineyard.”
