The Spanish Ornithological Society (SEO/BirdLife) congratulated the Extremadura Supreme Court of Justice (TSJEx) for the following decision: prevents dovetail nests from being removed (Delichon urbicum) located on the cornices of balconies For painting and cleaning the facade of a building in the town of Montánchez (Cáceres).
In the statement made by the conservation organization, this decision confirms the decision of the General Directorate of Sustainability, Nature Conservation and Protected Areas Unit, dated October 2, 2021, which rejected the request for permission to remove the nests in the building in question. .
In this way, he provided SEO/BirdLife. A precedent is set for future action on buildings that may have an impact on wild species. Mostly migratory birds, living in towns and cities, protected by law.
In its reasoning, the organization explained that the rejected request was aimed at obtaining permits due to the necessity of urban regulations that required the owner to keep his properties in a state of safety.
However, TSJEx’s decision, “The ban on removing the nests does not affect safety in any way, given the space they occupy, as long as the facade can be cleaned and painted without affecting the nests. Alternative measures that take up minimal space and do not involve their destruction can be used to prevent contamination.
Thousands of nests are destroyed each year due to the work
According to David de la Bodega, coordinator of the SEO/BirdLife Guardians of Nature project, “this decision represents a significant step forward compared to the previous one. One of the main threats posed to migratory species such as the swallow, the swallow or the swallow, which are subject to thousands of nests being destroyed each year. on the pretext of cleaning and painting the facades”.
After this court decision, It is “obvious” that slots should be protected even if they are emptyHe said that compared to studies of reclamation or conditioning of buildings, “there is no real conflict between public safety or health and the protection of nests of protected species such as these.”
TSJEx’s decision comes in an “adverse” context for: common swallow, a highly protected migratory species It was noted that it was included in the List of Wild Species in Special Conservation Regime (Lesrpe) by the Birds Directive.
In Extremadura, data on species evolution show an average annual evolution of -1.8 percent over the 1998-2022 period, according to the SEO/BirdLife Sacre program. A 30 percent population decline since 1998.
…..
Contact address of the environment department: [email protected]