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Enhancing Park Managers’ Capacity to Monitor Impacts on Species in Catalonia, Spain

Enhancing Park Managers’ Capacity to Monitor Impacts on Species in Catalonia, Spain

The Bonelli’s eagle (Aquila fasciata) is a flagship species in the Mediterranean, although it is vulnerable in several parts of the region. In Catalonia, the Wildlife Service of the Government has estimated 85 breeding pairs, one of them in Sant Llorenç del Munt i l’Obac Natural Park. Park managers have faced challenges in understanding and monitoring the species’ reproductive behaviour and its relation with different threats and pressures within and outside the park.

Tech4Nature Spain developed a monitoring programme to understand how visitors and other external factors affect the eagle’s breeding and mobility behaviour. A technological architecture using cameras, GPS trackers and the Axis Station software was put in place along with metrics and alerts to ensure a better monitoring infrastructure and prevention capabilities. This solution can be replicated in other protected areas, be applied to other species and even other phenomena such as wildfires.

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