The govern of Galicia (Xunta de Galicia) put out to tender for an initial amount of 133,538.58 euros the service for the elimination of invasive exotic species on the Cíes, Ons and Sálvora islands of the National Maritime Terrestrial Park of the Atlantic Islands of Galicia, work that will focus on the fixed dunes (grey dunes) and in their contact habitat in order to guarantee their favorable conservation status.
With a validity of 33 months, this contract is part of the work that is being carried out within the framework of LIFE INSULAR, a transnational project co-financed with European funds in which Spain and Ireland participate and whose purpose is to achieve the integrated restoration of habitats. islands of the Atlantic Ocean.
To achieve these objectives, the initiative plans to carry out a series of actions on the ground focused on the priority and community interest habitat types of 2130* and 4030, corresponding to Coastal dunes with herbaceous vegetation and European dry heaths.
The tender that has just been published corresponds to this type of "in situ" work and will allow continuity to the work undertaken in the last year and a half in the three Galician archipelagos on the invasive exotic terrestrial flora (acacias, African daisy, etc.) and that have a very beneficial impact on the state of conservation of the aforementioned habitats.
Specifically, the service includes carrying out actions to improve the structure and functionality of two types of habitats typical of these islands through the elimination and control, using manual methods, of invasive flora.
The company that takes charge of the service, whose duration will extend from the signing of the contract until November 2026, must have a minimum of six specialist laborers and a technical manager in charge of the field team to carry out the scheduled work.
It is necessary to remember that the main objective of the LIFE INSULAR project is to promote a favorable state of conservation of the habitats of islands belonging to the Natura 2000 Network in the Atlantic Ocean, while increasing their resilience as a measure of adaptation to climate change.
In this sense, it seeks to minimize in the medium and long term the impact of possible external disturbances on the areas of action (risk of gales, catastrophic wind erosion...) and a recovery of the natural landscape of these islands will also be sought with the challenge to reverse the situation that existed 70 years ago.
Specifically, the focus is on eight Special Conservation Areas (SAC) located on five islands, which are (in addition to the three Galician ones already mentioned) La Graciosa, in the Canary Islands, and Ireland.
The IBADER (Universidade de Santiago de Compostela) plays the role of coordinator, while the Galician Government, through the Department of the Environment, Territory and Housing, is in charge of the technical execution, as stated in the signed agreement. in 2022 between both organizations. The other beneficiary partners of the European project are the Autonomous Agency for National Parks and, on the Irish side, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Coillte CGA.
