- The Arabako Mendia Aske association wishes to congratulate and thank the Natural Environment Service of the Provincial Council of Álava for the success achieved with the Aquila a-Life project for the reintroduction of the Bonelli eagle into our territory. We are fully aware of the tremendous work and economic effort involved in this project, and we believe that the results obtained are of great value in order to better understand the problems of this endangered species. Thorough monitoring of chickens prior to release has provided essential information on their dispersion, displacement and causes of mortality, including power lines, shooting, collisions with wind turbines and natural depredation.
Particularly significant was the case of the female eagles pair Bonelli, Soraya and Hegoa. This couple has been able to create a stable bond and carry out a chit of eagle to Bonelli, thanks to the care, feeding and maternal support they have given him for months after returning to his nest. This success confirms that same-sex couples are not "unnatural", as some sectors mistakenly believe, but a further sign of natural diversity.
The high mortality rate of the Bonelli eagle due to electrocution and collision with wind turbines is known, and its implementation in such sensitive areas is unacceptable.
We take this opportunity to ask the Provincial Council of Álava and the Basque Government to reconsider their position on the renewable energy macro-projects in Azazeta and Laminoria. These projects are located just 15 km from the nest of Soraya and Hegoa, and are located at the critical points for the reproduction, feeding and planting of this pair of eagles Bonelli. It is paradoxical and contradictory that after 25 years of efforts to strengthen the population of this priority species, which is in a decline of more than 75% in the Peninsular North, infrastructures are being promoted that pose a direct threat to its survival. The high mortality rate of the Bonelli eagle from electrocution and collision with wind turbines is well known, and it is therefore unacceptable that such facilities should be set up in such sensitive areas.
In particular, the Laminoria project would have an aerogenerator of almost 200 metres high less than one kilometre from the Muladar de Amendi. This area is visited by large scavenger predators such as white vultures, mammals, red milanos and leonated vultures. In addition, 16 wind turbines of similar size designed would be located in an ecological corridor that connects important protected areas of the Natura 2000 network between Navarra and Álava, very close to the Izki Natural Park, the ZEC of Entzia and the Urbasa Andía Natural Park of Navarra.
We must not forget that in this area poultry and chiroptera are very rich: 17 species of bats, royal eagles, azores, gavilanes, thousands and mammals. The irreversible damage that these macro-projects would inflict on fauna is sufficient reason for the permanent cessation of these projects.
Finally, we want a long life for young eagle Entzia Bonelli, hoping to avoid the many risks posed by electric poles and wind turbines. To see if in the near future we can see the implantation of its own reproductive territory in Álava.