By: ELOISE WALTON
SPAIN’S ENVIRONMENT Minister is due to sign an agreement with Portugal to develop a programme to reintroduce and then protect the Iberian lynx at a 150 hectare site near Silves.
Cristina Narbona is due to sign a protocol on September 1 which will make operational an agreement between the two countries to reintroduce the lynx to the Algarve. This will take place during an informal environmental meeting about the European Union in Lisbon.
Due to the complaint filed with the European Commission about the construction of the Odelouca dam, an environmental project has been created to allow the Águas do Algarve dam building project to continue. This covers a range of conservation areas including the Iberian Lynx, birds, fish and plants.
Águas do Algarve, the regional water company, has bought the Herdade das Santinhas, a 150 hectare plot of land in the Silves area to build a national reproduction centre for the Iberian lynx, which is expected to be completed by December 2008.
Wild rabbit populations will also be encouraged, as they constitute 80 to 100 per cent of the lynx’s diet. The recuperation and maintenance of natural habitat will also be a defining factor in the success of the project.
Lynx are currently being bred in captivity at the Doñana National Park in Andalucía, Spain, and are expected to be handed over to the Algarve when the new centre has been constructed. A total of 3.6 million euros is being invested in the project, which will include several other conservation methods for other species.
Miguel Lecoq, coordinator for the Lynx programme from the Liga para a Protecção da Natureza (LPN), the League for the protection of animals, told The Resident: “LPN are not directly involved in this particular project, however I find the way in which the matter has been treated very worrying,” adding, “it will be difficult for the people who live in that economically poor area to understand how so much money can be spent on one species, without the benefits of the programme being explained to them.”
Mr Lecoq added: “The construction of this centre could just be a move to keep the media happy. Before any action is taken to reintroduce any species, it is important to assure that the threats that led to its decline have been eliminated”.
An experimental pilot station to breed fish species will also be constructed as well as an environment centre to promote learning and awareness and a re–forestation programme of indigenous tree species.
Race car track
OWNERS OF the planned race car track in Portimão, Parkalgar, will collaborate with Instituto do Emprego e Formação Profissional (IEFP), the institute of employment and the vocational training, to recruit around 3,000 workers necessary to construct the project.
Paulo Pinheiro, head of Parkalgar, said he was pleased that IEFP was collaborating on recruiting a workforce as it ensured quality and quantity of staff needed would be met.
The site is due to have a go-kart and car racing track, 160 tourist apartments and access to the A22 motorway. There is also due to be an innovation centre with state of the art equipment, where companies linked to motor racing will be based.
There are even plans to construct a five-star hotel with 200 rooms, with a total private investment for the entire project of 200 million euros.
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