LIFE projects unite the Azores and Madeira archipelagos

Nov. 5, 2021

One of the LIFE VIDALIA's goals, developed in the Azores, is to establish partnerships with various entities and projects dedicated to the conservation of endemic flora of Macaronesia and other themes related to nature conservation and climate action. The maintenance of a partner’s network with similar goals allows the team to benefit from direct observation of the results of other projects while also sharing experiences, knowledge and protocols, which should contribute to a generalised increase in the capacity to respond to environmental issues as they arise.

The operational goals of the LIFE DUNAS project include habitat restoration, control and eradication of invasive species and nursery propagation and planting of endemic and native species of Porto Santo and the Madeira archipelago, including plants close to Lotus azoricus, such as Lotus glaucus ssp. floridus and Lotus loweanus. Given the similar goals between these two projects, this visit happened intending to observe practices associated with the propagation and reinforcement of wild populations of other endemic Lotus species, as well as invasive alien species control practices in coastal environments and ecological restoration practices.

Besides being a Macaronesian LIFE project, the LIFE DUNAS also works for the conservation of coastal flora. Thus, the knowledge, methodologies and experience exchange with this project's team is of great importance for LIFE VIDALIA, being also part of its goals the establishment of contacts for networking, replication and transfer of results.

With the financial support of the LIFE Programme of the European Union.