On World Wildlife Conservation Day, December 4, Bondalti celebrates nature, but also its involvement, for several years, with important projects aimed at balancing ecosystems and recovering endangered species.
This is the result of the company's commitment to the promotion of biodiversity, as part of its ambitious Social and Corporate Responsibility program, which has sustainability as one of its priority axes. The objective is clear: to help create a better planet for future generations and to generate a positive impact on society.
The recovery of the Iberian lynx and the imperial eagle, the protection of the brown bear in Cantabria, the partnership with the CRAM - Center for the Recovery of Marine Animals (from Ecomare) and, more recently, the support for the study of migratory birds present in Portugal, are effective examples of this involvement.
In defense of the Iberian lynx and the imperial eagle
In 2017, Bondalti established a protocol with the National Association of Rural Owners (ANPC), whose purpose is to support habitat recovery for two emblematic, endangered species: the Iberian lynx and the imperial eagle.
The project is being developed in the Guadiana Valley region, in the Herdade de Vale de Perditos, in an area of more than three thousand hectares. The initial objective was to adopt a multifunctional management that allows the creation of conditions for the development of these species that are at the top of the food chain, as well as a wide variety of others, essential for the survival of those two superpredators.
The financing is fully guaranteed by Bondalti, worth more than 800 thousand euros, distributed over six years.
The results have been very positive at various levels, especially the presence of the Iberian lynx for a long period of time, the maintenance of a mosaic landscape with high resilience, ecological value and support capacity for a wide range of species, the total absence of fires and the maintenance of five jobs in an area with high human desertification.
One of the highlights of this project was the recent release into the wild of a pair of Iberian lynxes born in captivity, which was another important step in the reproduction of the species in that area.
“Wetlands and Water Birds” studies migratory birds
In 2021, Bondalti began supporting a project developed by the Center for Environmental and Sea Studies (CESAM), of the University of Aveiro, which it designated as “Wetlands and Water Birds”. The objective of this initiative is to study the ecology of shorebirds, which choose coastal wetlands as their habitat, usually estuaries and lagoons, and which are known for their vast migrations.
In the first year, the project focused on the Colhereiros, and, already in 2022, on the Gray Tarambola and the Red Leg, all protected bird species in Portugal.
Specifically, Bondalti's support consists of offering GPS transmitters that are applied to birds, allowing them to be tracked. Since the beginning, the company has already offered a total of 13 transmitters, from which data of great relevance has been obtained for the researchers who are part of this project.
Conservation of the brown bear, a symbol of Cantabria
In Cantabria, the Spanish region where Bondalti has had an industrial unit since 2019, a partnership was recently established with the local government, with a view to protecting the brown bear, an emblematic species of the region and one of the priorities of local authorities with regard to nature conservation.
Bondalti's support is materialized in the offer of various equipment, namely a portable X-ray device and its revealing device, surveillance cameras with solar charging systems, mobile data packages, among others.
Partnership for the recovery of marine species
Other initiatives in this area are the partnership with CRAM (integrated into Ecomare), an entity linked to the University of Aveiro dedicated to the rescue, recovery and return to nature of dolphins, seals, turtles and seabirds that dump off the central and northern coast of Portugal.
The established protocol dates back to 2016 and includes the donation, by Bondalti, of sodium hypochlorite, a chemical compound necessary to maintain the water quality of the tanks where the rescued animals temporarily live.
