Slope stabilisation work on the island of Flores is well underway

Feb. 29, 2024

One of the aims of the LIFE BEETLES project, coordinated by the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Change, is to create green structures in peri-urban areas to improve the habitat of the project's target species, the Ironclad Beetle (Tarphius floresensis).

This action involves renaturalising areas along streams by removing invasive flora species and then planting endemic species. However, many of the zones where invasive species are removed are located on steep slopes.

To stabilise these slopes, nature-based solutions are used (natural engineering). By reusing the wood of invasive trees, such as Sweet Pittosporum (Pittosporum undulatum), various structures have been built on the slopes of the river in the intervention areas, namely fascines and palisades.

These structures help prevent landslides and stabilise the soil so that the plantations of endemic species have time to take root and hold the soil naturally.

Find out more about the LIFE BEETLES project at www.lifebeetlesazores.com/en/.