30 million sparrows less in a decade in Spain | Society

30 million sparrows less in a decade in Spain | Society



SEO / BirdLife wants to stop the plummeting of the population of small birds that live in the cities, focusing on the sparrow, the most emblematic and known. Their data point to the fact that in Spain the popular species has fallen by 21% from 2008 to 2018, "what translated to individuals implies that in just a decade there could be 30 million less sparrows", indicates the ornithological organization it's a statement. The decline is "alarming," because if the trend is not changed, "we could find cities without sparrows very soon," says Beatriz Sánchez, campaign coordinator. Birds of Neighborhood of SEO / BirdLife that was presented yesterday in Madrid.

The organization now seeks to involve different actors (citizens, administrations, companies, associations) in the project. In the Manuela Carmena participated Mayor of Madrid, a city with which SEO signed a collaboration agreement at the beginning of the year to monitor its birds.

One of the main objectives of the study, which will last three years, is to find out what happens to the sparrow. "There are studies that point to pollution, noise, poor quality food, lack of shelter ... but none is conclusive," says Sanchez. In addition, other urban birds that drag similar problems such as coal, blue tits, greenbirds, airplanes, swallows or robins, among others, will be studied. Among the actions planned, are the maintenance of green areas or the improvement in the design and rehabilitation of buildings, which currently disappear holes that use many of these birds to nest. Measures that hope contribute to the improvement of the quality of life in the cities.

"We have a pending challenge. As a society, we have the responsibility of taking care of our natural heritage also in the urban centers, "said Asunción Ruiz, director of the organization. "No wild bird spends as much time with us as the common sparrow," explains SEO / BirdLife. Its adaptation to the human being is such that if a town is abandoned by its inhabitants, they soon disappear.

But during the last decades of the twentieth century, the species has seen its numbers decline year after year, especially in the main European capitals. "This is the case of Berlin, Paris and Prague, where populations have declined drastically. In others like London, Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent or Hamburg the sparrows have practically disappeared ", they indicate. In Spain, the situation is not better.

If you take into account, in addition, adds the organization "that 20% of the birds that exist in the world and 5% of vascular plants inhabit the cities and that some of these species are threatened" is essential to adopt the measures to conserve nature and conserve biodiversity in cities.

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