Spain in the spotlight

SEO/BirdLife SEO/BirdLife mobilises thousands of volunteers every year. Zoom In

Protecting and celebrating Spain's threatened birds
Spanish Imperial Eagle Aquila adalberti, Western Capercaillie Tetrao urogallus, carrion-eating birds…these are just some of the endangered birds which feature in specific SEO/BirdLife campaigns and conservation projects. These projects combine conservation action, volunteering and community activities with formal collaboration with landowners and public authorities. Recent achievements include better EU regulations to protect carrion-eating birds, higher breeding success of the Spanish Imperial Eagle, and habitat improvements for the Capercaillie.

How do EU policies affect bird populations? 
Like many other EU BirdLife Partners, SEO/BirdLife runs strategic monitoring programmes of common and endangered bird populations, combining thousands of hours of volunteer effort with analytical expertise. SEO/BirdLife increasingly uses this information to assess the impact of EU policies, such as the Common Agricultural Policy or the Water Framework Directive. The role of birds as indicators of global biodiversity will be discussed at a conference of the European Bird Census Council in Cáceres, Spain in March 2010, with a special focus on the impact of climate change on migratory birds.

Volunteering for Nature
BirdLife International believes in the active participation of the public in nature conservation, as a way to improve public awareness of environmental problems and their possible solutions. In cooperation with public authorities, companies and other social sectors, SEO/BirdLife mobilises thousands of volunteers every year in bird monitoring, habitat management of protected areas –including National Parks- and environmental education programmes. In October 2009, about 30,000 people in Spain participated in ‘EuroBirdwatch’, an international event to celebrate birds and nature throughout Europe.

You can download the PDF version of the Greening Europe here. If you want to receive the publication, please send an e-mail to  europe@birdlife.org.

 The next Greening Europe will present BirdLife's priorities for the Belgian EU Presidency and will be published at the beginning of July 2010.