SITES

	Greatham, Teesside, UK
	West Site, Billingham, UK
	Grimsby, Humberside, UK
	Calais, France
	Huelva, Spain
Habitats on the Huelva Site Insects Reptiles and Amphibians Birds Mammals Wildlife of the Surrounding Area Biodiversity Management
	Scarlino, Italy
	Teluk Kalung, Malaysia
	Umbogintwini, South Africa
	Lake Charles, USA
	Burnie, Tasmania

Index by Category

Appendices

References

Huelva, Spain

Wildlife of the Surrounding Area

A number of birds were seen in the Stone Pine and scrub areas adjacent to the factory and at times these could easily occur on the site. Of particular interest are the Azure-winged Magpies (Cyanopica cyanus) that appears to be locally common in the pinewoods, and even the eucalyptus plantations, of the surrounding area. Azure-winged Magpie has a very unusual distribution being confined to Japan and parts of eastern Asia with the exception of an isolated community that is resident in the central and southern Iberian Peninsula (Goodwin 1976).

Other woodland and scrubland species that occur close by and could be found on the site in the future include Woodchat Shrike (Lanius senator) and Crested Tit (Parus cristatus). A number of Common Waxbills (Estrilda astrild) were seen within 2 km of the factory. This is an African species that was introduced into Portugal near Obidos a number of years ago. This bird has now spread into southwestern Spain and could in future easily occur on Tioxide land. The most significant wildlife habitats in the area surrounding the Tioxide property are a number of internationally important wetlands, some of which lie within 500m of the factory boundary.

Wetland Areas Adjacent to the Tioxide Site
Wetlands are amongst the most valuable and vulnerable of the earth's ecosystems. Wetlands act as sponges storing and slowly releasing rainwater so preventing flooding and preventing soil erosion. They also recharge aquifers and recycle clean water removing excessive nutrients and other contaminants. Wetlands are also extremely biodiverse habitats and the conservation of global biodiversity is one of the major environmental goals of the 1990s.

The vulnerability of wetland ecosystems is widely recognised. They are highly susceptible to disruption through:

• Drainage for agriculture and industrialisation with an estimated 50% loss of the total global wetlands that originally existed.
• Contamination from agricultural run-off and industrial effluents.
• Increased human disturbance of wetland wildlife.
• Excessive demand for water resources.

The latter is probably one of the greatest threats in some areas. The over exploiting of ground water aquifers supporting many Mediterranean wetlands is a particularly common problem. This is especially true of the Coto Donana wetlands of the Guadalquivir Marismas where excessive amounts of water have been extracted to cater for the tourist industry and for agricultural irrigation, especially for strawberry growing. The Tablas de Daimiel wetlands in central Spain on the Guadiana River are also deteriorating because of excessive water demands (Finlayson & Moser 1991).

Although there are no permanent wetlands on the Tioxide property at Huelva, there are four major wetlands in the immediate vicinity of the site, Paraje Natural Estero Domingo Rubio the Marismas de Odiel Pareje Natural, Laguna Primera de Palos and the Laguna de El Portil.

Paraje Natural Estero Domingo Rubio
At its nearest point, this wetland lies within 600m of the northern boundary of the Tioxide site. The habitat is essentially freshwater lagoons with denser reed cover in some parts. Slightly to the north of the rough track that runs along the north edge of the lagoon there is an open marsh - wet meadow area. The southern shore of the lagoon, nearest to the Tioxide site, rises steeply to a scrub-covered hillside with Cistus, Halimium, Lavender, Stone Pine and eucalyptus. Bird life is both abundant and varied and the species recorded during several visits between 1995 and 2000 are listed in Table 25.

A number the birds present, especially some of the nesting species, are of particular European nature conservation importance.

Estuaries of the Rio Tinto, Rio Odiel and Las Marismas de Odiel
This is a major wetland of international biological importance covering 8520 ha and is a notified RAMSAR site. It is situated on the estuaries of the Rio Odiel and Rio Tinto within the City of Huelva about 5 km from the Tioxide site.

Odiel reserve is one of the few regular feeding areas in Europe for Greater Flamingo (Phoenicoptreus ruber), at times holding up to 2000 birds. Recently a number of these have remained to breed rather than go to the marismas of the Coto Donana about 120 km to the east. This may be because the Odiel marshes do not dry out in the summer, as do many of the wetlands of the Coto. Las Marismas del Odiel is also more saline and as such is more attractive to nesting flamingos (Grunfield 1988).

The Odiel Marshes are also the breeding grounds of significant numbers of other waterbirds such as Purple Herons (Ardea purpurea), Black-winged Stilt (Himantopus himantopus), Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) and Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia). With about 300 pairs the Spoonbill colony is one of the most important in Europe.

The estuarine and coastal waters of this wetland receive the aqueous discharges from the Tioxide plant and other industries in the Huelva industrial zone. Finlayson & Moser (1991) cite the Odiel marshes as a good example of the natural cleaning processes of wetland ecosystems. Stating that in spite of receiving highly acidic water via the Rios Tinto and Odiel from the pyrites mines in the surrounding mountains, the effluents from the oil refinery and chemical waters of the industrial zone and the sewage from the City of Huelva, the marshes have still retained their international importance for waterbirds. They went on to add that projects were underway to control the more immediate sources of pollution.

Tioxide Huelva have carried out biological surveys of the estuary area for a number of years and the brief ornithological surveys of September 1994 and May 1995, February 1997, June 1999 and August 2000 found an abundance of birdlife. The bird records from these visits are shown in Table 26.

Laguna Primera de Palos y Las Madres
This important wetland habitat consists of a series of four reed-fringed lagoons (de Palos, de la Jara, de la Mujer and de las Madres) by the side of the C-442 coast road and immediately south east of the Tioxide plant. The pools hold most of the species of waterbirds of the region including the internationally endangered White-headed Duck. Collard Pratincoles occur in the summer and possibly breed. Other species include Booted Eagle, Spectacled Warbler and Lesser Short-toed Lark, the latter being a very local bird restricted in Europe to a small region in southern Spain. Birds recorded during brief visits to these lagoons are given in Table 27. As part of its conservation and biodiversity policy the Tioxide at Huelva have co-operated with local conservation organisations in providing wildlife viewing hides in this area.

Laguna de El Portil
This reserve is located along the coast road adjacent to the small town of El Portel about 13 km west of the Tioxide site. The 15.5 ha Reserva Natural and the surrounding 1,300 ha Zona de Proteccion was designated in June 1989. The main habitat is a freshwater lagoon fringed with reedbeds (Phragmites australis), reedmace (Typha dominguensis) Tamarix canariensis and various sedges (Juncus spp.) and rushes (Scirpus spp.). The protection zone is open woodland with cork oak (Quercus suber), stone pine (Pinus pinea), mastic tree (Pistacia lentiscus), rosemary (Rosmarinus officnialis) and common myrtle (Mirtus communis). The lagoon holds numerous waterbirds throughout the year. Those recorded on a very brief visit in August 2000 are given in Table 27. Of particular interest was the presence of two Ferruginous Ducks, a declining species in Spain and western Europe.