On the occasion of World Wetlands Day, Fundación Global Nature has inaugurated El Hito Lagoon Observatory, with the presence of a large group of representatives of politics and society in La Mancha, including the Vice President of Castilla-La Mancha, José Luis Martínez Guijarro; its Counsellor of Sustainable Development, José Luis Escudero and the Director of Biodiversity of the Ministry for Ecological Transition, María Jesús Rodríguez de Sancho.
Next to the aquatic birds observatory, a trail for public use has been developed, which runs along the path from Montalbo to the wetland. This route raises awareness of the importance of the salt steppes and their valuable endemisms, with species of flora and fauna that are difficult to find elsewhere.
During his visit to El Hito Lagoon, the Counsellor of Agriculture of Castilla-La Mancha, Francisco Martínez Arroyo, announced that the farmers of the region will have an aid of 65 euros per hectare for the next five years to compensate for the damage caused by cranes and steppe birds to the sowing of cereal. This is great news for the conservation of this area and allows the continuity of the compensatory measures of El Hito LIFE project.
With the beginning of the year, the school environmental education program of El Hito LIFE project begins, which will visit 50 schools in 30 municipalities in the province of Cuenca. The aim is to raise awareness of the natural values of the territory and involve the local population in its conservation.
In the same place where the agricultural and livestock warehouses of Montalbo were located, an observatory for bird watching is installed. From now on, it will be possible to watch the ducks and other aquatic birds of El Hito lagoon in a space designed specifically for this purpose. The construction of the observatory represents a firm commitment to ecotourism and biodiversity conservation.
At the end of November, the Monitoring Committee of El Hito LIFE project is convened to review the actions that have been implemented during the last months and those that are planned to be initiated in the near future. The year 2022 is being for the recovery of the wetland, registering very significant progress.
November saw the start of the revegetation campaign of El Hito LIFE project, which includes the restoration of the salt steppes of the lagoon. Particularly noteworthy is the planting of albardine (Lygeum spartum) in priority areas of great potential for recovery.
The Member of the Parliament (MEP) Cesar Luena has visited El Hito Lagoon to inquire about the ecological restoration work that Fundación Global Nature is carrying out in this emblematic lagoon of Cuenca. During his tour, the MEP has had the opportunity to learn about the restoration techniques used for the recovery of the saline steppe landscapes of El Hito Lagoon and agricultural productive landscapes. Luena is responsible for processing the first European ecological restoration legislation.
Fundación Global Nature has launched a citizen participation process to know the opinion of a broad group of social, environmental and economic agents involved in the local development of El Hito Lagoon. The process includes participation spaces where people who live and work in the region can talk about the wetland and its values as a source of social and economic wealth.
In August, work began on the demolition of the agricultural and livestock buildings at El Hito lagoon. Located on the northern shore of the wetland, they constitute one of the main obstacles to the environmental recovery of this habitat. The demolition of the warehouses is a fundamental step towards the ultimate goal of returning this area to its original state.
Fundación Global Nature has held the first meeting of farmers for biodiversity in El Hito Lagoon. The objective is to create alliances for the conservation of cranes and steppe birds through agreements with farmers who find in the environment an opportunity to be more effective, more efficient and to differentiate their products in the market. The project already has 17 collaboration agreements in more than 200 hectares of land among El Hito and Montalbo.
We are in the middle of collecting albardine seed in the natural area of El Hito Lagoon, which will be the basis of next year's restoration campaign. In this first season, we want to collect 150,000 seeds of Lygeum spartum (albardine). These seeds have been transferred to the ecological plant nursery that Fundación Global Nature has in the municipality of Villacañas, Toledo, for planting in seedbeds. Villacañas plant nursery specializes in the production of native plants, especially species typical of wetlands and salt steppes of La Mancha, such as the albardine. Producing the plant with seed from the same area is the best strategy to obtain adapted and genetically suitable specimens.
The Rural Joint School San José de Calasanz has celebrated, for the first time, its traditional Recreation Day in El Hito Lagoon. The meeting included workshops on beekeeping and insects and a very special puppet theater by the puppeteer and well-known tiktoker of Cuenca, Mario Ezno. The aim of these days has been to highlight the natural heritage of El Hito Lagoon protected area with children as the main protagonists.
At the beginning of May, Naturgy employees and their families volunteered at El Hito lagoon. During the day, 377 herbaceous and vascular plants are planted in an area of approximately 54 m2. After the planting, the employees of the electric company have the opportunity to visit El Hito Interpretation Center and learn about the importance of the lagoon, as well as its unique endemic species.
In spring, the monitoring of flora, insects and birds began, led by Santos Cirujano, senior scientist at the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid (CSIC); Mario García París, senior scientist at the National Museum of Natural Sciences of Madrid (MNCN-CSIC); and José Luis González, secretary of the NGO Terra Naturalis, together with David Miguélez, PhD ornithologist from Fundación Global Nature, respectively. The purpose of this monitoring is to make an inventory of plants, insects and birds in the natural area of El Hito Lagoon in order to measure the effectiveness of the conservation and restoration actions implemented in El Hito LIFE project
In April, the Monitoring Committee of El Hito LIFE project is constituted. Its objective is to gather views and expectations on the different areas of work related to the Natura 2000 El Hito Lagoon site. The Committee, which will meet once a year, brings together NGOs, social entities, scientific research centers and representatives of the local and regional administration involved in the project; all of them fundamental to achieve the success of this initiative.
On the 20th anniversary of the El Hito Lagoon Nature Reserve declaration, Fundación Global Nature , together with the Cuenca Provincial Council and the support of the European Union, presented the plan for the expansion and restoration of El Hito Lagoon, on which one of the most emblematic salt steppes of Castilla-La Mancha is located. The event brings together media and representatives of the local and regional administration, along with farmers, traders, neighbors and society as a whole at the El Hito Overview.
El Hito LIFE project joins the commemorative events of World Wetlands Day 2022 with the organization of a painting workshop for pre-school and primary school students, involving children of all ages from El Hito and Montalbo. The workshop includes a drawing contest about the lagoon.
We start the year sharing the project with 17 farmers who have signed land stewardship agreements to introduce sustainable practices to make their activities compatible with crane populations. The agreement includes financial compensation for damages caused by cranes and advice to the farmer to include sustainable agricultural practices.
The most emblematic species of this natural area is the common crane (Grus grus), a migratory bird from northern Europe that travels to the Iberian Peninsula to spend the winter. It is especially important for its passage through wetlands in the province of Zaragoza (Gallocanta Lagoon) and Cuenca (El Hito Lagoon). Fundación Global Nature visited the people in charge of the interpretation center to learn first-hand about the operation of public use.
The project "Expansion and restoration of El Hito Lagoon, a priority saline wetland" (LIFE20 NAT/ES/000035 LIFE EL HITO) is presented to the European Commission and the other beneficiaries of the LIFE Nature and Biodiversity 2020 call. Special emphasis is placed on the value of the reserve at European level, which is home to a very specific flora and fauna due to the special and extreme characteristics of the lagoon (endorheic, steppe, saline, temporary). These singularities give the area a high ecological value with valuable endemic and endangered species.
The purchase of land is one of the first measures contemplated in El Hito lagoon conservation project. On November 9, the acquisition of 313.66 hectares of land was carried out, where the albardinal habitats and different endangered species of flora and fauna stand out. This purchase ensures the protection of 50% of the nature reserve and a third of the Natura 2000 Network area.
The LIFE project for the extension and restoration of El Hito Lagoon, a natural area of high biological diversity and of great importance for aquatic birds, integrated in the Natura 2000 Network, included in the Ramsar List of the United Nations and in the network of Protected Areas of Castilla-La Mancha since 2002, has started. The project is financed by the European Union and the Regional Goverment of Cuenca, as well as the participation of the municipalities of El Hito and Montalbo and the Government of Castilla-La Mancha.