14/05/2003 00:00
TW
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THE Parc Natural de s'Albufera near Puerto Alcudia is 800 hectares of one of the most important wildlife reserves in the Balearic Islands.
An oasis of peace and tranquillity with nearby traffic noise replaced by the sound of rippling water and children's shouts replaced by the calls of birds, it is a magnet for nature lovers and bird–watchers from all over the world. Last week a new centre was opened which, when it is completely finished, will help all these visitors enjoy the area to the utmost and make the most of its facilities. In 1985 the park was designated a Special Protected Area for Birds (ZEPA) and an Area of International Importance by the Ramsar Convention. More than 200 species of birds have been spotted in the reserve from common finches, warblers and wagtails to rare grey plovers, black terns and red–footed falcons passing through on their migratory routes. Paying tribute to the pioneers (many of them British) who helped save this important conservation area, Balearic Minister for the Environment Margalida Rossello opened the new visitors centre and an exhibition of drawings showing the development of s'Albufera. She presented reproductions of a map used by English engineer J. F. Bateman when he embarked on the 1856 drainage project to the mayors of Alcudia, Muro and Sa Pobla in whose jurisdictions the park lies. British ecologist Professor Palmer Newbould also spoke at the opening ceremony, proposing a toast to Max Nicholson, a founder of the World Wildlife Fund who was deeply committed to s'Albufera. “Apart from getting me involved here, Max brought s'Albufera to the attention of a worldwide audience,” he said of the conservationist who died recently at the age of 98. Professor Newbould's wife, Jo, has written a book on the plant life of s'Albufera with illustrations by Dinah McLellan. A lovely book to look at it is cleverly arranged in sections relating to the colour of the flowers so that anyone walking in the countryside will have no difficulty in identifying any that they come across.