Lands of Priolo: Integrated management to save a bird, recover natural habitats and promote sustainability

Ecological restoration of Azorean laurel forest was the main conservation action developed for the recovery of the Azores bullfinch. Restoration is conducted by chemically removing the invasive species, since no manual or mechanical methods proved effective. After removal, soil stabilization is conducted, reverting to natural engineering techniques when necessary and the area is planted with native and endemic species produced in the nurseries. In patches of pure IAS stands, logging of invasive trees with chemical treatment and chemical treatments on standing trees have been tested and are used depending on the terrain conditions. So far, over 350 hectares of native forests have been restored, including 295 hectares of Humid Laurel Forests and 31 hectares of highly degraded Mesic Laurel Forests. This amount is expected to increase by 80 more hectares by the end of the present project.

Ecological restoration of peatlands was conducted by removing grazing cattle from the area, removing IAS (namely Gunnera tinctoria) manually, closing drainage ditches and inoculating peatland mosses into the flooding pools generated. This active restoration was conducted in an area of 75 hectares. This restoration experience has allowed us to develop techniques that have been replicated in Azores.

A comprehensive environmental education program was developed for all levels of basic education, from pre-school to 12th year and including professional training. It includes activities adapted to the learning curriculum of each year. This way, school children would get information about nature conservation and its benefits while learning relevant concepts for their education. These activities are also offered to non-formal educational groups during the school holidays. More than 20,000 students have participated in a programme that has reached all the schools on the island.

The environmental education programme was designed with the contribution of teachers through several workshops that led to the definition of an education strategy. It includes a set of activities to be developed in the schools, ranging from lectures and practical classroom activities to more recreational activities and educational games. It also comprises some school visits to the Priolo’s Interpretation Centre, the Nurseries of Azorean Plants and the protected area.

Teaching tools and child-friendly materials were prepared for the programme and for teachers’ independent use. A certified teacher education program has been developed with 150 teachers trained so far.

The project’s communication strategy was aimed at the local population through press and social media. It was important to produce press releases and invite journalists to report on the project, as was communication through the internet and social media.

A regular programme of activities aimed at the general public, including volunteering activities, was developed. These activities allowed locals (and sometimes visitors) to participate in and learn about conservation activities taking place in the protected area, as well as learning about Azorean biodiversity.

In the end of 2007 the Priolo's Interpretation Centre was opened. Its mission is to raise awareness for the “Priolo” and its habitat, the Laurel Forest. It contains an exhibition that tells the story of Azores bullfinch, explains the conservation actions developed on the ground and talks about the biodiversity of the protected area and of the Azores archipelago. The Priolo’s Interpretation Centre increased the communication capability of the project. This centre provides information for visitors to the protected area and promotes educational activities for schools and the local population. This centre also has a small souvenir shop and donation box, gathering some funding for the implementation of the project.

In 2010, the Regional Directorate for the Environment, the Regional Directorate of Tourism, the Regional Directorate of Forestry Resources, the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds, the Azores Geopark, the municipalities of Nordeste and Povoação, other institutions, private touristic companies and local people started a participatory process in order to develop a Strategy and Action Plan to promote the Lands of Priolo as a Sustainable Tourism destination.

This process led to the definition of a first action plan for five years (2012-2016) with 55 concrete actions. By 2016 66% of the plan was fully implemented and up to 88% was at least started. In 2016 this action plan was evaluated and a new action plan was developed with 77 actions and new partner institutions. The private tourism companies could also actively participate in the sustainable tourism plan through their own commitments by signing into the Priolo Brand.

This sustainable tourism planning was awarded the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas.

Every four years the "Atlas of Priolo" is conducted, with 50 volunteers counting all the priolos in the world in one or two days. This Atlas allows a more robust estimation of the priolo population size.

Annually a census of priolo is conducted by a project technician in May and June, and in September a juvenile census is conducted in order to assess the reproductive success of the species. Every four years a winter census is also conducted. This monitoring allows assessment of the population trends of the bird and quick action if any problem is identified.

Native vegetation evolution is assessed in all the intervention areas annually, comparing the composition of random 10 x10 metre squares of vegetation between restored areas and control areas. New plantations are also monitored to assess their success and identify problems. When an intervention area presents other sensitive issues, such as proximity of water lines, new monitoring schemes, for example water analysis, are put in place in order to ensure success and safety of all the interventions.

Finally, socioeconomic impacts of the project in terms of investment and ecosystem services provision are also monitored.

In order to ensure an adequate supply of native and endemic plant species for the restoration actions, it was necessary to increase the capacity of production in nurseries of endemic and native plant species. The Regional Directorate for Forestry Resources, an important partner in this project, already produced endemic and native tree species before the project started. Native and endemic species production has significantly increased since then.

However, the need for more species and, specifically, the need for herbaceous and shrubby species to ensure a higher percentage cover of the area, led the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds to build a new nursery. This nursery is mostly focused on the production of herbaceous and shrubby species and is also important for planting areas with native and endemic species for seed collection, to be used for hydro-seeding techniques. Presently, these nurseries have an annual production of around 40,000 plants and around 160 kg of seeds.

These nurseries are also used for environmental education activities and for the promotion of the use of native species in gardening by the general public.