The Foundation for the Conservation of the Bearded Vulture (FCQ), in agreement with the environmental authorities, has decided to suspend in a precautionary manner the release of specimens of this threatened species in the Maestrazgo region (Teruel) until the definitive dimension of the macro wind farm that is planned to be erected in the territory is clarified.
"The high risk of collision and death to which the projected deployment would expose the species makes it impossible to continue," they say from the organization, which is highly critical of this wind farm. This is the first case in Spain in which a moratorium is imposed on a reintroduction project of a threatened species due to incompatibility with a wind turbine field.
Created in 1995, FCQ has already managed to bring back this bird of prey, which at the end of the last century only survived in the wild in the Pyrenees and in the Picos de Europa, where it now breeds in the wild. His objective with the Life Corredores Ibéricos por el Quebrantahuesos project was to replicate that experience in the Sierra de Gredos and in the Teruel Maestrazgo. Last year they released four specimens, two in each area, and the plan was to continue releasing pups until 2027.
"El Maestrazgo is one of the best Mediterranean mountainous areas that we have in Spain," Juan Antonio Gil, general secretary of FCQ, assures this newspaper. The environmentalist highlights that the area is an ecological corridor "of great value" ideal for the reintroduction of this bird, with abundant trophic resources and a low presence of threats to the species. "They have not taken that into account when approving the megapark," he criticizes.
According to a recent study carried out by two experts from this entity, the reintroduction of birds is "incompatible" with the installation of the mills. After analyzing for months the flight patterns and the use of space in the Maestrazgo of ten bearded vultures – the two released in Teruel and another eight from another recovery program in neighboring Castellón – and 12 radio-tagged griffon vultures in the area, the results set off “all the alarm bells”: in just one year, the bearded vultures could have collided up to 745 times with the projected wind turbines.
The discord wind project is the largest of those authorized so far in the country by the Ministry for Ecological Transition. In total, 125 wind turbines distributed in eight municipalities of the Teruel Maestrazgo, to which another fifty other projects in bordering regions are added. Authentic giants of almost 200 meters from the base to the tip of the blade that must be provided with access tracks or energy evacuation lines.
“They want to implement an industrial model with serious repercussions for biodiversity that entails the loss of other more sustainable activities such as ecotourism. It is a great missed opportunity for the species and for the region,” Gil asserted.
The FCQ has already communicated its decision to the ministry, the Government of Aragon and the European Commission, on which all Life programs depend. "The Commission said that the decision is in our hands and that if the megapark goes ahead, we will have to rethink whether to continue releasing specimens," explains Gil. Meanwhile, his plan is to redirect the young to the Picos de Europa and Gredos, "where there are no threats," he says.
Parallel to the precautionary suspension, the entity fights in other ways. On the one hand, presenting an appeal to the project. On the other, they have scheduled a meeting to address the matter with the Secretary of State for the Environment, Hugo Morán. "There is still room for maneuver," Gil confides. Beyond this specific project, the FCQ also asks to open "a deep reflection and debate" on the way in which renewables are being promoted in the territory and their future. “Its implementation is necessary, but it cannot come at the cost of biodiversity”, he says.
