Proyecto ArcosLife

Etiqueta: Meeting

  • Life+ARCOS General meeting prior to the Mid-term report submit, hosted in the INDUROT headquarters in Mieres, Aturias.

    Life+ARCOS General meeting prior to the Mid-term report submit, hosted in the INDUROT headquarters in Mieres, Aturias.

    The morning and afternoon sessions just ended. Members from the General Assembly of the Life+ARCOS @Lifeprogramme project were in attendance, alongside all beneficiary members of the project: Directorate-General for the Sustainability of the Coast and the Sea (via its areas in Asturias, Cantabria and Bizkaia); the Government of Cantabria (via the Directorate-General of Natural Environment), the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa and the company Ecología Litoral; as well as its coordinating partner, the University of Oviedo.

    The meeting was held at the Institute of Natural Resources and Land Planning (INDUROT)-University of Oviedo, located on the Mieres Campus (Asturias).

    At the meeting, the head of each of the work areas reviewed the current state of Life project conservation activities. The progress obtained up until now and proposed a closure calendar for each of the 10 enclaves where the activities are taking place was also evaluated. With help from members, the timetable for project closure was adjusted and adapted to current needs. 

    At the meeting, the project’s interim report was reviewed, which will be sent to European authorities for evaluation. This also marks the beginning of the second and last stage of project closure, which will require an injection of new capital to carry out unfinished activities.

    The European Commission’s visit to activity areas in April of this year formed part of the work session.

    Project dissemination activities were reviewed and the consortium’s participation in international conferences during the following months of 2018 was decided.

    Also, within the scope of communicating and diffusing the project, 18 and 19 May were chosen to celebrate, with all project members, European Natura 2000 Network Day activities which, in the case of the Principality of Asturias, are focused on the Barayo Partial Natural Reserve.

     

    The capacity of the administrations working to manage the protected areas was brought to the table in order to talk about how to continue with the activities Life+ARCOS carries out in the three autonomous communities.

    It was informed that the Aranzadi Science Society recently obtained a subsidy to carry out informational activities. The Society was not present at the end of the meeting.

    The structural species and non-structural species planting calendar was also reviewed. The real capacity of the ARCOS+Life project was adjusted from its initial commitments.

    Finally, coordination between members regarding project closure was encouraged to make the process as successful as possible. In conclusion, everyone said their goodbyes as the next meeting won’t be held until April 2018.

  • LIFE+ARCOS meets the General Directorate for Biodiversitiy, in Oviedo, to evaluate the extent of the actions foreseen in the Barayo site (Navia-Valdés, Asturias)

    LIFE+ARCOS meets the General Directorate for Biodiversitiy, in Oviedo, to evaluate the extent of the actions foreseen in the Barayo site (Navia-Valdés, Asturias)

    On 14 February, LIFE+ARCOS met in the Multi-Service Building of the Principality of Asturias with heads of the Protected Area and Nature Conservation Service, of the Directorate-General for Biodiversity. They talked about the next steps for the Barayo Partial Natural Reserve, including the SAC Peñarronda-Barayo, once the non-native forest cutting has concluded in the area.

    Ms Teresa Sánchez Corominas, head of this service, attended the meeting. Items were brought up that will have to be included in the LIFE project’s plan of action for this area, relating to the definitive treatment of leftover plant material from the cutting of pine trees, the salinization of the dune system to eradicate adventitious species before planting activities and the plan to eliminate the invasive plant Spartina patens in the protected space, among other items.

    The Multi-Service Building of the Principality of Asturias, in Oviedo,  where the meeting with the heads of the Protected Area and Nature Conservation Service took place

    The following people attended the meeting:

    From LIFE+ARCOS: T. E. Díaz, main project lead; Ignacio Felpete, conservation activity technician in Asturias; Carlos Ley, manager of the company Ecología Litoral S.L. and Fernando de la Torre, from Coast Demarcation of Asturias.

    From the Principality: Teresa Sánchez, head of the Protected Area and Nature Conservation Service; Víctor Vazquez, head of the Biodiversity Analysis and Conservation Section of said Service and Susana García, biologist of the section.

  • Life+ARCOS held a meeting with local authorities from the Ribadesella Council

    Life+ARCOS held a meeting with local authorities from the Ribadesella Council

    On 23 July 2015, members of the University of Oviedo-Atlantic Botanical Garden, coordinating member of the Life+ARCOS project, met at the city council house in Ribadesella to discuss the activities planned within the Life+ARCOS project with members of the municipal corporation, within the Site of Community Importance called “Vega Beach.”

    Reunión Ribadesella
    Photo of the meeting with A. Bueno (University of Oviedo) and Ignacio Baldón and Patricia Toyos (Council of Ribadesella), from left to right.

    The following people attended the meeting from the University of Oviedo: Mr Álvaro Bueno Sánchez and Mr J. Ignacio Alonso Felpete, as technical heads of the project; from the city council of Ribadesella: Mr Ignacio Baldó García, councillor of the environment and Ms Patricia Toyos González, surveyor from the council, who was accompanied by two employees of this section.

    Attendees received a thematic portfolio on the LIFE+ARCOS subject “Conserving Cantabrian Dunes” and learned about the scope of action and activities to be carried out on Vega Beach through 2018.

    The aerial photo of the protected area was used to talk about where the main activities will take place. We talked about the need to regulate access points to the beach, to eradicate exotic invasive species in dune areas—such as the Australian laurel (Pittosporum tobira), Arctoteca calendula or Stenotaphrum americanum and others that are present in fragments of the alder grove (a habitat that is also protected and prioritised by European legislation) at the final part of the river that flows into Vega Beach.

    At the meeting there was also time to coordinate some municipal activities such as placement of lifeguard stands and mechanical cleaning work. The goal was to make sure these activities do not threaten protected species in the Regional Catalogue of Threatened Flora of Asturias.

    The head of the Environment of the city council of Ribadesella’s knowledge of the area, resulting from having lived in the village of Vega for many years, enormously facilitated the conversation and discussion of information about the ownership of land bordering the Site of Community Importance.

    The meeting concluded with council members interest in the project. They agreed to meet in September to discuss important public information functions about activities on Vega Beach and in the council of Ribadesella.

  • Life+ARCOS held a meeting with the authorities of the Santoña Council

    Life+ARCOS held a meeting with the authorities of the Santoña Council

    Palacio Manzanedo, Santoña
    Council of Santoña, Manzanedo Palace, where the meeting between the Life+ARCOS project representative and representatives from the Council of Santoña was held

    On 23 July, the director of the Santoña, Victoria and Joyel Marshes Natural Park of the Directorate-General of Forestry and Nature Conservation of the Regional Ministry of Rural Affairs, Fisheries and Food of the Government of Cantabria (collaborating member of the LIFE+ARCOS project), Ms Lourdes González Azpiri, met with the Mayor of Santoña, Mr Sergio Abascal Azofra, and the Councillor of the Environment, Mr Fernando Palacio Ansola. They talked about items of interest within the Natural Protected Area and about the LIFE+ARCOS dune restoration project for Berria Beach (Santoña).

    Attendees received a thematic portfolio on the LIFE+ARCOS subject “Conserving Cantabrian Dunes” and learned about the scope of action and activities to be carried out on Berria Beach through 2018. They were informed about the importance of the activities planned within the project (closing the dunes, installing sand collectors, eradicating invasive species and planting dune vegetation as main activities) to maintain the structure and dynamic of the dune system. We also insisted on the need for mechanical cleaning of the front side of the beach (responsibility of the Council of Santoña) that is far enough away from the dune to conserve its habitats. In reference to the volunteer activities, we explained the relationship the NACAR (Nature and Prison) environmental volunteer programme (since 2004) with the LIFE+ARCOS project with the activities scheduled for next autumn.

    Ms Lourdes González, the mayor of Santoña, Mr Sergio Abascal and the Councillor of Environment, Mr Fernando Palacio during the meeting.

    The Mayor and Councillor of Environment were interested in knowing more about the project’s activities and suggested carrying out a technical visit to Berria beach on 3 August to interact with the current state of Berria beach’s dune system and to evaluate existing public use infrastructure.