The LIFE European programme is a tool to finance projects in order to contribute to the nature conservation in the EU as a whole, without forgetting the socio economic development of its inhabitants.

The Dupont’s lark is one of scarcest and most threatened birds in Spain and Europe. On the European continent, the Dupont’s lark is only present in Spain, and those who are living in the countryside of Soria represent 15% of Spain population and the number is more and more limited.

The Dupont’s lark is a steppe bird that lives in low-lying areas in brushwood of thymes, lavenders, mixed with cultivated areas that have been exploited by sheep during centuries. The maintenance of this habitat and its use for cattle grazing are essential to ensure its conservation. You only can find those conservation conditions in the southern part of Soria.

 

• Developing our knowledge of the species, by realising surveys that provide information on the number of individuals, migratory movements and food.
• Improving and increasing its habitat carrying out the necessary work to recover steppe areas. Establishing commitments with the owners of the lands so that they also benefit from our actions.
• Encouraging the extensive sheep farming by improving infrastructures for livestock development, within a territorial custody programme.
• Encouraging the ornithological tourism specialised in this bird, by combining the historical and cultural heritage of our villages with the singing of a bird that may be very difficult to observe in the whole continent of Europe.

The final budget of the project amounts to 3,347,601 euros, and the contribution requested from the EU amounts to 2,505,795 euros.

From September 2016 to February 2021.