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Mar Sánchez on her love for nature and the role of wind farms

Just before going on an adventurous journey around La Janda, in search of Cranes, I drove to the most southern point of Spain, Tarifa, to meet up with Mar, a biologist who works there for the MIGRES Foundation. She gladly wanted to share her passion for nature and incessantly spoke about conservation work.



Nice to meet you, Mar! What exactly is MIGRES?


Hi! Well, MIGRES is a non-profit foundation founded in 2003 whose main goal is to promote research and activities related to the environment, focusing especially on the phenomenon of migration and its relation to climate change. One of our biggest projects involves compensatory measures associated with the wind farms. Those measures, by law, have the aim to compensate for all the negative impacts that infrastructures such as wind farms have on the environment in which they are located. Some of the impact can be prevented, and if not, it has to be compensated for.





Since the beginning, now twenty years ago, MIGRES has worked together with Asociación Eólica de Tarifa for the planning and execution of those measures, always under the supervision of the authorities, and paid by the companies that form part of that Association. After all, the impact is caused by them, so it’s obvious that they pay for it.


For example, a few years ago, it became clear that the wind farms were having a negative impact on the population of the Egyptian Vultures. A project was set up to help this species and now there are four breeding pairs in Tarifa, which is a satisfactory number. The project consists in providing supplementary feeding stations, so that these birds are diverted. This year has been the sixth year that we have deployed these feeding stations and it’s time to start analysing the data that we have collected over the years. I can already tell you that the results are looking promising, but it is still too soon to draw conclusions without having official evidence.




Egyptian Vulture
Egyptian Vulture

MIGRES also has a scientific background. The president is Miguel Ferrer, researcher at Doñana Biological Station. He is not only interested in conservation efforts, but also in constant improvements to the programmes.




Do you know how the Egyptian Vultures are doing in the rest of Andalusia?


In total in Andalusia there are well over twenty breeding pairs. One of them can be found in Sierra de Líjar, where they are even quite easy to observe from a distance.




You are a biologist, where does that interest come from?


Actually, I have always lived in a big city, in Valencia, far away from nature. Nobody expected me to become a biologist. When I was a little girl, I wanted to become president of the United States and save the world. I soon found out that was a bit difficult and then I wanted to become a teacher, but after finishing school I realised how much I had liked the subject Biology. I wanted to know more about how life works! So in the end that’s what I studied at university. General Biology at first. I really like plants a lot as well, not only animals. But it soon became clear that I preferred being in the field. Working in a laboratory all the time is not my cup of tea.


Currently I am writing a lot of reports, and that is not my favourite part of my job, but I know it is essential.




Another part of your job is to communicate with the wind farm companies. Are they always eager to release information about incidents for instance?


That’s a delicate topic.



Why? Do they have to hide things?


I rather believe they don’t. Let’s say it depends on the circumstances.



But the workers don’t get blamed when a bird flies into a mill, do they?


Well, sometimes they do.



Seriously? So they have a huge responsibility.


Exactly. Now tests are being done with a new system implementing cameras into mills, equipped with artificial intelligence. But when you take away the person who is responsible for stopping the mills when a bird is about to collide, the wind farm companies have nobody to blame. Replacing a person by a camera is far cheaper, but companies can’t blame their own cameras if something goes wrong. It’s an interesting matter, we’ll see how things evolve. What if there is a mechanical failure, let’s say a power cut? Imagine the system stops working in a time of migration, that would cause a disaster. Neither do cameras take away carrion, count incidents or communicate with neighbouring wind farms. In my opinion, we should never eliminate the human factor.



Marsh Harrier flying near a wind farm
Marsh Harrier flying near a wind farm

Overall, do you consider wind farms to be an effective green solution?


Wind energy will always be worth it. We have now passed the peak of fossil energy sources and our society will always depend on large quantities of energy, enormous quantities of energy, not only to drive our cars or go on holiday, but as well to keep our hospitals and factories running, that’s irreversible. We will have to make a change into using renewable energy, progressively. We cannot deny that there will also be a negative side, but we should try to deal with it in the best possible way.




Wind farm
One of the numerous wind farms in the province of Cadiz

Do people sometimes accuse MIGRES of Greenwashing?


That happens. And I can see their point, but then I try to explain that I’m on their side, doing the best I can.




Do you think our countryside will soon be filled with wind farms and solar panels?


Ideally, there should be some legal mechanism that makes it impossible for any council to just implement wind farms or solar power fields and doing so destroy nature, without a previous and profound study to assess the impact on the environment.




Mar observing Tarifa Island

Do you think the global crisis can simply be solved by reducing the world population?


It’s not as simple as that. It’s rather a matter of balancing our resources better. Do you think the richest and most powerful countries have the right to tell poorer countries to reduce their population? While they exploit their energy sources? To many, the current imbalance suits them well, it’s a way to maintain the power.


You know, after all, we’re all together in this. We are all responsible. I try to start with myself. I took the decision to move to Tarifa, and I try not to go too far now, there are plenty of things to do here. But then at the same time, there are people jumping into their private jet to go on a city trip, having a huge negative impact on our climate, you know what I mean?


As an individual, I do believe that I can make a difference. Not only professionally, but even in my personal life. I am not a vegetarian, and I don’t feel guilty when I eat meat, but I try not to exaggerate. I think when it comes to conservation, it’s all about politics. Not the political parties kind of politics, or different coloured parties that represent different opinions and come up against each other. But taking important decisions and making changes definitely is about politics.




So in your free time, you also go out in nature, watching birds for example?


Yes, usually around Tarifa, there’s no need to go very far. We have La Janda at a stone’s throw as well. I know there are other places of great interest in Cadiz, but for example I haven’t explored Sierra de Grazalema a lot yet. But even here, close to home, I often get lost. Fortunately, I always manage to get back safely. On my journeys, I love to pick up new things about birds, and there’s still a lot to learn about them, especially the little ones sometimes confuse me.







Which bird would you consider as your favourite?


It’s hard to pick only one, especially because it’s so magical to see and understand how different species live together in different ecosystems. But if I had to choose one, I’d say the Egyptian Vulture. Mainly because they are scarcer now than in past times, and also because they don’t even look like a vulture. They are a bit stubborn, but extremely intelligent birds! I remember once I was at a feeding station, changing the memory card of one of the camera traps, when an Egyptian Vulture came down to feed. I hid behind a rock and the bird didn’t notice my presence. It was incredible to see such an animal so close.




Egyptian Vulture
Close-up of Mar's favourite bird species: the Egyptian Vulture

Are there any species you would love to see?


The Common Rock Thrush! Or the White-throated Dipper. I’d better go this winter to look for them in the mountains of Grazalema, before they head back north to breed.




Which other place in the world would you like to visit to go birdwatching?


Probably somewhere similar to the Strait of Gibraltar! Batumi in Georgia would be nice. Or Turkey. A bit further away I’d say Central America. Wait, give me just a second…. eleven, twelve, thirteen, … Did you see the White Storks flying north?




Oh, now I can see them. But I would never have counted them.


That’s a natural reflex, sorry (laughs). They might be flying to La Janda.




Mar spotting a flock of White Storks!

La Janda! That's where I'm going right now.


You'll surely see plenty of birds to see there! (laughs)


Thanks so much for the interview, Mar!

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