The foundation seeks synergies between its Protegim Ses Sargantanes and Ibiza Produce programmes to promote the protection of the iconic Ibiza wall lizard
Ibiza, 22/04/2024 – Faced with the increasingly complex challenge of ensuring the survival of the Ibiza wall lizard, today, on Earth Day, IbizaPreservation has reiterated its commitment to helping to protect this endangered species with the launch of a new project that seeks to install traps to capture snakes on agricultural land.
The environmental foundation kicked off the initiative a few days ago by placing eight traps in the kitchen gardens of the House of WOW restaurant. It plans to install a total of 250 traps on 20 farms over the next few months.
In this way, the organisation aims to link the objectives of its Protegim Ses Sargantanes project with those of Ibiza Produce, another IbizaPreservation programme that is committed to organic and regenerative agriculture.
As Jordi Salewski, the coordinator of Ibiza Produce, explained, “The lizard is not only key for biodiversity, but also plays an important role in terms of the good health of crops, acting as a natural form of pest control and contributing to the nutrient cycle of the soil. By participating in this new initiative, the island’s farmers are demonstrating their commitment to sustainable and regenerative farming, improving the quality of their produce and helping the island’s environment at the same time.”
Most of the traps will be installed as part of Ibiza Produce’s Eivissa Sembra Futur project, under which 12 farms selected to receive aid totalling 7,000 euros for planting more than 200 organic fruit trees of local varieties will also take part in this trapping initiative.
Moreover, as part of its Protegim Ses Sargantanes programme, this year IbizaPreservation will also expand its intensive trapping project in protected natural areas on the island of Ibiza, specifically in the Ses Salines Natural Park and Ses Feixes de Talamanca, by placing 80 traps between the two sites. This is double the number deployed in 2023, when a hundred snakes were captured with just 40 strategically placed traps.
Jordi Serapio, the project coordinator, highlighted the challenges faced by this and other environmental organisations on Ibiza and Formentera in preventing the extinction of the endemic lizard: “It is becoming clearer every day that the horseshoe whip and ladder snakes are here to stay, as has happened with many other invasive species around the world. However, it is imperative that efforts to control their populations, and minimise the negative effects they have on local biodiversity as a whole, continue unabated.”
Through these projects, IbizaPreservation hopes to contribute to the increased capture of invasive snakes, as well as helping to bolster native populations of lizards in various ecosystems on the island.
