01/18/2016

The simple and innovative idea of using drones to protect endangered species is at the centre of the agreement signed by Enel Green Power in Spain to protect the Iberian lynx, a wild cat that was still common in parts of the Iberian Peninsula until the 1980s.However, following a gradual decline, today it only reproduces in two areas of Andalusia and has become an endangered species.

The agreement for the protection of the Lynx pardinus involves EGP Spain, the regional Andalusian council for Environment and Land Protection and Microsensory, an Iberian GPS system manufacturer.

The goal of the partnership, which involves a 20,000 euro investment, is to develop a feline location and monitoring system that uses drones in addition to the traditional method of tagging the animals with radio transmitters. In particular, the unmanned aerial systems will make it possible to track the routes along which the lynxes move, which are often crisscrossed by roads and even motorways.

Manufacture of the drones is funded by EGP Spain. Microsensory will equip the aerial system with the necessary devices. On the other hand, the Andalusian regional council will contribute with its own scientific and technical knowhow during the project's operational phase.

In order to save theIberian lynx from extinction, Spain has enacted a largescale repopulation programme. In 2002 the species only counted 94 specimens, found in two small areas of Andalusia, which already grew to 327 specimens in 2014. Today Lynx pardina is again inhabiting forests in Sierra de Guadarrama, in central Spain, not far from Madrid. For this reason, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature lowered the species' threat level from CR (Critical Risk of extinction) to EN (Endangered).

The combination of innovation and biodiversity protection is central to this project involving the use of drones. 'So far the radio devices have provided useful information on the land and paths followed by the lynxes, but their monitoring is extremely dependent on the area's topography and requires daily surveillance by surveyors', said the Andalusian regional Minister José Fiscal.

Enel Green Power S.p.A. issued this content on 2016-01-18 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 2016-01-18 15:20:03 UTC

Original Document: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/egp/news_tecnologie_en/~3/BoDJm97a8Ys/release.aspx