According to the researchers, about 68% of sand plants will be affected, a much higher number than the 6% estimated by the Environmental Impact Study (EIA) associated with the airport project.
Published in the journal Animal Conservation, the article focuses on the sandpiper (Limosa limosa), a bird that appears on the list of species for which a section of the Tagus River estuary has been designated as a Special Protection Zone (EPZ).
The authors explain that it is a protection law framed in the EU Bird Directive and adopted through national legislation.
The study was led by researchers from the Center for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM) and the Department of Biology of the University of Avero (UA), with contributions from researchers from the University of Iceland and the University of East Anglia, UK.
The authors show that birds travel great distances, from daily movements to seasonal transcontinental migration, and that in identifying and quantifying threats to these species in protected areas, animal studies are conducted at fixed sites.
With this model, says CESAM and UA researcher Josh Nightingale in the study, there is a risk of underestimating the importance of location and connectivity between locations. The researchers used a new approach to calculate the movements of the birds.
One of the most important habitats for sandpipers is the Tagus estuary, sheltering tens of thousands of individuals, not only during the winter, but also during the spring migration period, say the authors, who analyzed the movements of the birds within the estuary between years. 2000 and 2020.
Using this information, they analyzed the implications of building an airport in Montego, with planes flying over the protected area at low altitude and with high frequency.
Josh Nightingale points out in the study that the EIA estimated that less than 6% of the Eurasian sandpiper population in the SPA region would be affected, but what the researchers have now found is that more than 68% of the sandpiper that winter in the Tagus region would be disturbed downstream caused by aircraft, and only 44% of those using EPZs.
The study also shows that individually tracked birds are very loyal to a small number of locations throughout their lives, so they may not come to use the new habitat areas that are eventually created due to the establishment of an airport.
José Alves, Principal Investigator at CESAM and UA, says the approach taken to calculate the environmental impact footprint could be applied to other protected areas.
The construction of a new airport in the Lisbon area is being analyzed by a committee set up for this purpose, but in the past the airport of Montejo was taken for granted.
FP // ZO
“Writer. Analyst. Avid travel maven. Devoted twitter guru. Unapologetic pop culture expert. General zombie enthusiast.”
