Meeting of the SAFEROAD project management team in Barcelona
On 19th March, a meeting of the management team of ‘SAFEROAD – Safe roads for wildlife and people’ project was held in Barcelona at the headquarters of the Government of Catalonia’s Department of Planning and Sustainability. Representatives from Conference of European Directors of Roads, ALTERRA-Wageningen UR, the Swedish University of Agricultural Science and MINUARTIA met technicians of […]
The journal PAISEA publishes a monographic issue on green corridors, with an interview on ecoducts
In the monographic issue, there is an interview with Carme Rosell, Director of MINUARTIA, on ecoducts, which are large infrastructures above roads and railroads with complete habitat restoration to favour the continuity of habitats on both sides of the infrastructure. Rosell points out that drafting a good project requires deep knowledge of ecosystems to establish […]
Gava municipality presents its Inventory of natural areas and ecological corridors
The Inventory, which is promoted by the City Council, will allow better management of natural areas and corridors in the municipality, as it includes a set of specific guidelines. Gava extends from the shoreline to the Garraf massif, through the agricultural plain of the Llobregat Delta. This is the only place between Castelldefels and Barcelona […]
The Report on the state of the environment in Catalonia 2006-2010 is available for consultation
The Report, published by the Government of Catalonia’s Department of Planning and Sustainability and compiled from data for the period 2006-2010, presents the evolution of the state of various environmental vectors in Catalonia. It exposes the pressures the vectors are under, and how these pressures are managed. It comes complete with a set of indicators […]
Parc de l’Alba promotes native auxiliary fauna for pest control in gardening
Shelters have been installed in Parc de l’Alba‘s ‘green corridor’ to boost populations of birds and bats. The Alba synchrotron, one of the most emblematic scientific structures in southern Europe, is situated in this area of Cerdanyola del Vallès, where urban development has enhanced elements of ‘Green Infrastructure’ including ecological corridors and wildlife passages that allow […]
Minuartia and the University of Barcelona exhibit three of its projects at the international conference on wildlife hazard prevention at airports
Three experiences developed at the Barcelona-El Prat Airport and in Costa Rica were presented by MINUARTIA and UB together with Barcelona airport, Acciona and DG de Aviación Civil from Costa Rica. The conference was held in México City, between 21 and 24 of this month, and was jointly organized by International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), […]
EMAS Club gives recognitions to companies for having the EMAS certification for 10 years
Minuartia has received the recognition given by the Club EMAS because the company has the EMAS certification from 10 years ago. This recognition has taken place during the delivery of the EMAS Awards Catalunya 2014, in which framework has been recognized to the organizations that marked the 10 years with the certification in 2013 or […]
Minuartia has joined the European Business and Biodiversity Platform
The European Business and Biodiversity (B@B) Platform was launched by the European Commission as an EU-level forum for sustained and strategic dialogue about the links between business and biodiversity. Minuartia takes part in the Platform in the Workstream ‘Innovation for Biodiversity and Business’. The Platform will deliver tangible results by working with business to develop […]
Companies present their its experience in Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation’s First Export Program
On 2-3 June, Barcelona hosted the first cycle in the city of the First Export Program, organised by the Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation. The main goal of the Program (launched in Argentina in 2001) is to provide free, specialized advice on foreign trade to SMEs that wish to start to internationalize their products or services, […]
Success of the wildlife refuges for reptiles built in the Montseny Natural Park
As a consequence of the abandonment of crops and farm buildings, an important habitat for reptiles has disappeared in recent decades: dry-stone walls. To reverse this situation and promote the conservation of these vertebrates, the Park of Montseny-Biosphere Reserve Conservation Plan includes actions focused on recovering refuges and warm-up sites for reptiles. To work towards […]
Minuartia joins the consortium of the ‘Safe roads for wildlife and people’ project, which is part of the Conference of European Directors of Roads’ research programme
Minuartia is part of the management team of the project SAFEROAD ‘Safe Roads for Wildlife and People. Cost efficient mitigation strategies and maintenance practices’, which is led by ALTERRA – Wageningen UR (Holland) and was a winning proposal in the Transnational Road Research Programme 2014-2016, which was called by the Conference of European Directors of Roads […]
A measure to reestablish fluvial connectivity in the Parque Natural dels Aiguamolls de l’Empordà
As part of World Fish Migration Day, the Parque Natural dels Aiguamolls de l’Empordà and the association La Sorellona organized on 24 May various activities to raise awareness of the problems faced by migratory fish. Many of these fish are threatened, as dams, locks and other infrastructure block their way and they cannot migrate or […]
Progress in the Master Plan for Ecological Connectivity in Andalusia
The Regional Government of Andalusia is drawing up a Master plan for Ecological Connectivity; a document that is currently at the internal stage of pooling ideas and discussion. The aim of the Plan is to increase connectivity throughout the territory. It includes a series of proposals for improving connectivity in Natura 2000 Network areas and […]
The development of European Green Infrastructure promoted from Barcelona
On 3 and 4 December 2013, members of the Green Infrastructure Network (GreenInfraNet) INTERREG IVC met in Barcelona. Barcelona Provincial Council’s Technical Office for Planning and Territorial Analysis is part of this network. GreenInfraNet is a network comprised of twelve regions in ten countries whose main objective is to strengthen the development and implementation of […]
Un Programa de seguimiento permite conocer la abundancia de jabalí en observatorios distribuidos por Catalunya
Desde hace 15 años, el Departament d’Agricultura, Ramaderia, Pesca, Alimentació i Medi Natural de la Generalitat de Catalunya, la Diputación de Barcelona y otras organizaciones que gestionan espacios naturales, colaboran en la aplicación del ‘Programa de seguimiento de las poblaciones de jabalí en Catalunya’, que se lleva a cabo en 17 espacios distribuidos por buena […]
The meeting ‘Natura 2000 Network: the declaration of special areas of conservation and the approval of their conservation instruments’ was held in the Basque Country.
The meeting, which was organized by the Regional Government of the Basque Country, as well as the Provincial Councils of Álava, Vizcaya and Guipúzcoa, Hazi and Ihobe, was held on 28 and 29 November in Zizurkil (Guipúzcoa) and attended by the main experts and park guards from departments of the Regional Government of the Basque […]
An inventory is made of wildlife passages and other wildlife-connectivity structures in the Catalan road network
The Government of Catalonia’s Department of Territory and Sustainability has drawn up a first inventory of wildlife passages built in recent decades to increase the permeability of the road network and reduce its effects on ecological connectivity. Over 600 structures, including 11 ecoducts, constructed along roads managed by the Government of Catalonia have been listed […]
The technical symposium Conectividad ecológica y vías de transporte
The technical symposium Conectividad ecológica y vías de transporte (Ecological connectivity and transport infrastructure) was held on 23 and 24 November in the Complejo Cultural San Francisco in Cáceres. It was the fifth symposium to be organized in the framework of the Working Group on Habitat Fragmentation due to Transportation Infrastructure, which was formed in […]
A study is carried out on the presence of wild boar in the nature reserves of the Montseny Park
Barcelona Provincial Council (Diputació de Barcelona), with the technical assistance of Minuartia, began a study in the 2012/2013 hunting season to determine the effect on wild boar abundance of battues in areas around the Park’s Nature Reserve Zones (ZRN) where hunting is prohibited for all reasons except wildlife management. The possibility of hunting wild boar […]
Presentation of a study on accidents caused by wild animals on the roads of Catalonia
On 6 June 2013, the Director-General for Land Transport Infrastructure from the Department of Territory and Sustainability, presented the results of a study on the rate of accidents caused by wild animals in the Catalan road network. The study, an extract of which can be consulted at this link, analysed around 6,000 accidents involving animals on […]
A good evaluation is essential to reduce wildlife hazards at airports
In its June 2013 issue, the magazine “Avion Revue Internacional” published an article entitled: Colisiones con aves en aeropuertos. Primer paso: un buen diagnóstico (Bird strikes at airports. First step: a good evaluation), which reflected the good practices at Barcelona-El Prat Airport in the management of risks related to birds and other animals in the airport grounds. […]
The seventh ICOET conference in Arizona brings together over 500 experts in infrastructures and ecology
The International Conference on Ecology & Transportation (ICOET) was held on 23-27 June 2013. The event was well-received, with over 500 experts attending from around the world. ICOET is one of the main international conferences on ecological conflicts related to transport infrastructure. Experts from a range of fields attend to share up-to-date information on corrective […]
Japanese specialists visit Catalonia to exchange knowledge about the experience of wild boar management
The head of the Office for the Prevention of Damage Caused by Wildlife of the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing and a Japanese researcher came to Catalonia to exchange knowledge and experience of how to control human-wild boar conflicts with Minuartia’s team. The visitors held meetings with various European specialists to compare techniques […]
Workshops on amphibians and reptiles given at the Parc de la Serralada Litoral
During the spring, the first courses and workshops were held on the flora, fauna and historical heritage of the Parc de la Serralada Litoral. This programme was organized by the Parc de la Serralada Litoral and Alella Town Council. Two workshops were given by professionals from Minuartia: one on amphibians on the morning of 13 […]
Wildlife videos on the ‘minuartiawildlife’ channel
Wildlife videos have been created using images obtained by camera trapping on Reconyx H500/H600 devices. Camera trapping is a bait-free technique for studying wildlife behaviour in its habitat. It does not interfere with the natural behaviour of the animals. Minuartia uses this technique in wildlife management, wildlife-human conflict, and species conservation projects. The videos can […]
The application of radar technologies helps to reduce wildlife risks at airports.
Wildlife management to reduce the risk of bird strikes requires careful evaluation and a good knowledge of bird movements within the airport grounds and surrounding areas. A new technology is increasingly being used to improve this evaluation: the radar detection of birds. This technology was endorsed in 2012 by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of […]
The ‘Good practice manual for the management of brown bear corridors in the Cantabrian mountain range’ is published
The Cantabrian brown bear population is currently divided into two subpopulations separated geographically by an area about 50 km wide, through which run major transport networks (a highway, roads and a railway line) and where there are large deforested areas. A key to the conservation of the species therefore lies in ensuring communication between reproductive […]
Solutions to reduce accidents caused by wildlife
Minuartia has signed a cooperation agreement with RIVISA to develop perimeter fences that can reduce wildlife conflicts on roads and railways and in other areas. The increase in the number of traffic accidents caused by wild boar, roe deer and other animals has a high social and economic cost. The construction of wildlife passages combined […]
The Wildlife and Traffic Manual of the COST 341 Project is adapted for Israel
The Israel National Road Company has published a Hebrew version of the document Habitat fragmentation due to transportation infrastructure: a handbook for identifying conflicts and designing solutions. The first edition of the manual, which is co-authored by Dr. Carme Rosell of Minuartia, was published in 2003 as part of the European COST 341 project on […]
Soluciones para reducir accidentes causados por fauna
Minuartia ha suscrito un acuerdo de cooperación con Rivisa para desarrollar valladoss perimetrales que reduzcan los conflictos causados por fauna en carreteras, ferrocarriles y en otros espacios. El aumento de los accidentes causados por jabalíes, corzos y otros animales en infraestructuras de transporte están generando importantes costes económicos y sociales. La construcción de pasos de […]
