As mentioned in a previous article in our ABS Magazine, the project “Restoring water points, creating sources of life” is a conservation project for fauna in general, particularly amphibian wildlife, whose scope of action is within the boundaries of the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park. In that article, we detailed the different actions included in this project, whose purpose is to provide wildlife with quality water points that can be used as a drinking, feeding or breeding point. In this new article, we are reviewing the different actions carried out during 2019 thanks to the funding provided by Andalucia Bird Society.
Over the last months, O-Live Environmental Association have been carrying out several actions intended to create, improve or maintain water points for wildlife all around Sierra de Cádiz.
The majority of the available resources have been dedicated to the purchase of material serving to create new water points. For this year, we have planned the creation of two temporary ponds, one of which has been already built, while the construction of the other one is planned for this autumn. The already created water point is located at Las Abiertas, near the town of Arcos de la Frontera, and it is part of a biological control project in an organic farmland environment. We have created a pond of 12 square meters whose main purpose is to shelter amphibian fauna and serve as a drinking point for fauna in general. Besides this, we have installed several nest boxes in order to help in the reproduction of passerines. All these actions are taken in order to promote the presence of wildlife in the farmland area, which will help to control possible insect borne diseases.
The second water point will be created in “El Herrador” Ecological Reserve, a farmland managed by O-Live Environmental Association, which is part of a land stewardship project. The goal in this project is to combine organic farming of olive groves with the conservation and restoration of natural heritage, based on criteria coming from applied research. However, we believe that not only the creation of water points is important, but the maintenance of the existing ones is of great importance. Therefore, a part of the available resources has been allocated for the monitoring and maintenance of the 68 water points created or adapted during the previous years.
The monitoring gives us information about the preferences of different amphibian species over different water points. It also allows us to see how these water points resist over time, in order to improve their planning and construction in the future. Finally, it allows us to know the condition of these water points, which are sometimes damaged by climate events or by the action of animals or people. Accordingly, during over this summer, the structure of two temporary ponds that were clogged and damaged due to the action of heavy rains have been recovered. We emptied the sediments that decrease their storage capacity, and recovered and reinforced the edges, to improve their resistant against the next rains.
From O-Live Environmental Association we want to thank Andalucia Bird Society and it’s membership, for the confidence placed in us and for its valuable help.
Álvaro de las Heras