Zoo de Barcelona, through the Zoo de Barcelona Foundation, and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Natural Environment of the Balearic Islands Government, have entered into a collaboration agreement to work on ex-situ (outside the natural habitat) conservation and management and breeding of protected species for repopulation or reintroduction into the wild. This four-year agreement builds on over 15 years of collaboration on projects protecting endangered Balearic wildlife.
The first specific initiative under this agreement took place on Wednesday with the reintroduction of nearly a hundred Mallorcan midwife toads (Alytes muletensis), one of the most endangered species in the Balearic Islands, classified as critically endangered in the Spanish Catalogue of Endangered Species. The reintroduction of the toads into their natural habitat was carried out on a private estate in the Serra de Tramuntana mountain range, with the participation of the Director of Zoo de Barcelona, Antoni Alarcon; the Balearic Islands Government’s director of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Environment, Joan Simonet; as well as technicians from Zoo de Barcelona and the Directorate-General of the Environment’s Species Protection Service. In addition to these institutions, the Damm company is also involved in the project to protect this amphibian.
Alarcon welcomed the signing of the agreement, noting that “Zoo de Barcelona and the Balearic Government have been working together on conservation projects for over 15 years” and that the agreement “reinforces our shared commitment to preserving biodiversity, a challenge in which zoos are increasingly essential. The Balearic Government can always count on us to help restore the biodiversity of these islands, which are home to many unique species.”
The agreement “represents a joint effort to protect and conserve of island biodiversity,” said Simonet. “This initiative symbolises the commitment of both institutions to the conservation of protected native wildlife and its preservation for future generations.”
A new drive for the protection of endangered wildlife
Zoo de Barcelona takes part in various research, conservation, and environmental education programmes and has experience managing endangered wildlife. Now, thanks to this agreement, it will contribute to work on endangered species such as the Mallorcan midwife toad (Alytes muletensis), the Ibiza wall lizard (Podarcis pityusensis), and the Lilford’s wall lizard (Podarcis lilfordi), as well as other protected species of conservation interest. The collaboration will also cover the development of environmental education and awareness projects about protected wildlife in the Balearic Islands. The agreement includes the exchange of scientific and technical knowledge between the two institutions and the creation of a committee to monitor the work carried out under the framework of the agreement.
These protective measures are needed given the adverse situation of certain species and the implementation of regional, national, and international regulations in this field. As such, the Balearic Islands Government’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Environment is implementing conservation and recovery plans for endangered wildlife, which may include ex-situ conservation work and breeding programmes in specialised centres for reintroduction or population reinforcement in natural habitats. In this respect, Zoo de Barcelona has the appropriate facilities and specialist staff to carry out this work.