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From left to right: Isabel Buesa, Trustee of the Endesa Foundation; Josep Maria Dalmau, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park; Lluís Florit, Director and Conservator of the National Park; and Jordi Sargatal, Secretary for Ecological Transition of the Government of Catalonia.
The strategic agreement formalises the collaboration between both institutions to promote the conservation of the Pyrenean capercaillie, the rock ptarmigan, and the boreal owl, three key high-mountain species threatened by climate change and pressure on their habitats.
The three-year project will generate rigorous scientific knowledge to identify critical survival areas and develop management and protection measures within the Park.
The initiative is part of the Foundation's biodiversity strategy, focused on the active conservation of vulnerable species and the protection of ecosystems of high ecological value.
The Endesa Foundation and the Department of Territory, Housing and Ecological Transition of the Generalitat de Catalunya held the signing ceremony today at the Casa del Parc in Boí for a collaboration agreement to promote the conservation of threatened bird species in the Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park. This is Catalonia's oldest protected area, its only national park, and one of the natural spaces with the greatest ecological value in the Pyrenees, as well as a key enclave for high-mountain biodiversity. The main objective of the agreement is the protection of emblematic species by delimiting and understanding their survival areas to apply effective management actions within the Park.
The agreement was signed by the Secretary for Ecological Transition of the Department of Territory, Housing and Ecological Transition of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Jordi Sargatal, and Isabel Buesa, a trustee of the Endesa Foundation, thus consolidating an alliance aimed at reinforcing the protection of Catalan natural heritage through conservation projects with a scientific basis and practical application on the ground. The event was also attended by the Director of the Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park, Lluís Florit.
This agreement, with a duration of three years, will enable the development of an ambitious research, monitoring, and conservation project focused on three particularly sensitive species: the Pyrenean capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus), classified as endangered; the rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta), catalogued as vulnerable; and the boreal owl (Aegolius funereus), also catalogued as vulnerable. All of them have small populations, are in decline, and depend on very specific habitats that are especially vulnerable to climate change and human pressure. Likewise, monitoring of other sensitive species is also planned, such as the whinchat (Saxicola rubetra), the wallcreeper (Tichodroma muraria), the white-winged snowfinch (Montifringilla nivalis), the alpine accentor (Prunella collaris), the tree pipit (Anthus trivialis), the water pipit (Anthus spinoletta), among others.
In the case of the Pyrenean capercaillie, the project includes field surveys to locate singing, breeding, and wintering areas, the use of bioacoustic tools and GPS geolocation to improve the detection and tracking of the species, as well as genetic analysis to study connectivity between populations and detect potential inbreeding problems.
For the conservation of the rock ptarmigan, climate refuges and critical survival areas in the high mountains will be identified, with special attention to the impact of global warming and human activities during the winter. In addition, bioacoustic studies and analysis will be carried out to assess the impact of winter recreational activities, such as ski mountaineering or snowshoeing routes, on their behaviour and survival.
Regarding the boreal owl, a vulnerable nocturnal bird of prey in the Pyrenees, the actions will establish, for the first time in the park, a long-term monitoring system, singing censuses, and nest box checks. It will also include GPS tracking of females and young specimens to understand their movements and home ranges, as well as the surveying and delimitation of critical areas.
Beyond these emblematic species, the project also incorporates a cross-cutting line of knowledge regarding the park's alpine passerine group, as well as a line of work on the detection of pollutants and toxic substances in wildlife, and the development of innovative solutions to reduce collisions with infrastructure and improve coexistence between biodiversity and human activity.
To guarantee rigorous monitoring of the project, specific impact indicators have been established. These include the delimitation of up to 90 critical areas per species for the Pyrenean capercaillie and the rock ptarmigan, 36 priority areas for the boreal owl, as well as the monitoring of more than one hundred specimens or areas of ecological interest during the implementation period.
Science-based conservation and active land management
The collaboration with the Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park is part of the Endesa Foundation's Biodiversity strategy, aimed at the active protection of threatened species and the preservation of strategic ecosystems that are particularly exposed to the effects of climate change.
Through alliances with public administrations, scientific entities, and specialised organisations, the Endesa Foundation promotes projects that combine research, innovation, and direct action on the ground, with the aim of generating a measurable and lasting impact on biodiversity conservation.
In this context, the project developed in Aigüestortes represents a significant step towards improving scientific knowledge about emblematic species in the Pyrenees and translating that knowledge into effective management tools that help ensure their long-term survival.
About the Endesa Foundation
The Endesa Foundation was established in 1998 as an expression of Endesa's social commitment to responding to the needs of the communities in which it operates, thereby contributing to social progress.
Its purpose is to support a just and sustainable energy transition, improving the lives of people and the environment around us. To this end, the Endesa Foundation develops projects that promote quality education aligned with today's challenges by encouraging STEM vocations and providing training in the energy transition, offer training and employment opportunities to the most vulnerable in the green sectors of the economy, promote our country's culture and art, and contribute to a more sustainable world by protecting biodiversity and the ecosystems in which it thrives.
More information at: www.fundacionendesa.org