Althenia Sando will improve the habitats of the Sierra de las Nieves National and Natural Park, the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park and the Los Alcornocales Natural Park

20/01/2025

The Andalusian Regional Government’s Department of Sustainability and Environment has awarded Althenia Sando a project to improve habitats in three regional parks: Sierra de las Nieves National and Natural Park, Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park, and Los Alcornocales Natural Park.

Althenia Sando will apply its experience and technology to maintain and restore favourable conservation of habitats of community interest, with special attention to those included in Law 42/2007 of 13 December. It will also seek to promote the ecological connectivity of populations, species and habitats present in protected natural areas.

Among the planned actions, Althenia Sando will be responsible for creating, optimising, and modifying equipment and infrastructures such as paths, enclosures, nesting boxes, refuge boxes, pools, protectors, and the ecosystems that make up these protected natural spaces.

Improving habitats

In this way, Althenia Sando will enhance the habitats that make up the forests through silvicultural work, elimination of artificial barriers, repopulation of native species, recovery of pastures and elimination of invasive exotic species.

One of the project’s objectives is the creation of fountains, water troughs, and other constructions linked to the traditional use of the mountains.

Repopulation of Spanish firs

One of the main attractions of the Sierra de las Nieves National and Natural Park and the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park are the Spanish fir forests. These natural areas are home to the only species of fir tree in Andalusia, an endemic species of the Serranía de Ronda.

One of the most representative activities to be carried out by Althenia Sando is the repopulation of Spanish firs (Abies pinsapo). It will also recover high mountain pastures in scrubland areas, reforest the left bank of the Gaduares River, improve the pine forest area and eliminate eucalyptus trees or nuclei of Pennisetum setaceum (cat’s tail).

Althenia Sando contributes with this project to the Sustainable Development Goals, especially goal 15 to conserve the life of terrestrial ecosystems. Specifically, with target 15.4, to ensure the conservation of mountain ecosystems, including their biological diversity, in order to enhance their capacity to provide essential benefits for sustainable development.