The number of birds in the Portuguese countryside has been in worrying decline over the last few decades. The Barn Swallow, a symbol of the arrival of spring, has suffered a 40 per cent reduction in the last 20 years. This is just one example of the decline that is also affecting other species, such as the Cuckoo, House Sparrow and Turtle Dove, not only in Portugal but throughout Europe. Faced with this biodiversity crisis, the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds (SPEA-BirdLife) proposes a solution: the creation of a national network of bird sanctuaries, involving civil society, private individuals and institutions of various kinds. These spaces, spread throughout the country, will be managed with the aim of favouring local birdlife and biodiversity. To make them a reality, the organisation has launched a communication and fundraising campaign.
“In a context of the decline of a large number of species, including many considered common, it is essential to involve people directly in nature conservation, and birds in particular,” says Rui Borralho, Executive Director of SPEA.
Across Europe, an estimated 64 per cent of farmland bird species are in decline, due to growing threats such as agricultural intensification, monocultures, the excessive use of agrochemicals and the destruction of traditional habitats. And instruments such as the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy are failing to protect biodiversity and small farmers.
To reverse these worrying trends, SPEA is proposing the creation of a network of bird sanctuaries across the country.The initiative aims to implement bird-friendly management measures, restoring habitats and thus promoting biodiversity. In each sanctuary, SPEA experts will identify and monitor the existing bird species and analyse the characteristics of the site, working together with the owners to define bird-friendly measures that owners commit to implementing.These measures could include, for example, creating ponds and water points, replacing invasive plants with native species, implementing crop plots for wildlife or installing nest boxes.
SPEA is calling on everyone to take part in this campaign and to spread the word: even those who don’t own land in Portugal can support the initiative by making a donation via www.santuarios.spea.pt or through the Indiegogo crowdfunding platform.
“Birds are a key indicator of the state of biodiversity and of the ecosystems they are part of. Through them, we can see what’s going wrong in our environment,” says Rui Borralho: “By creating favourable conditions for birds to return to our fields, we’ll be creating a healthier countryside, with a better environment for future generations.”
SPEA warns that without urgent changes, Portugal could see the disappearance of species that are essential to the ecological balance, and the risk of extinction of various bird populations, especially those in agricultural and migratory areas, will increase dramatically.
With one in three Portuguese bird species threatened with extinction, SPEA’s initiative aims to reverse a worrying trend, in a collective effort to ensure that symbols such as the swallow continue to mark the arrival of spring in Portugal.
More information
Bird Sanctuary Network campaign on Indiegogo
