Prohibida la caza en la totalidad del monte Ulia

Iturria: Ugatza

06/08/12

Prohibida la caza en la totalidad del monte Ulia

La caza acaba de ser abolida en la totalidad del Monte Ulia. Los grupos ecologistas, conservacionistas, montañeros…, gipuzkoanos, y en particular los donostiarras (Eguzki, Itsas Enara, Club Vasco de Camping, Haritzalde, Amigos de Ulia, y Ugatza), estamos de enhorabuena, este año no emitiremos una nota de prensa sobre el particular, ya no hace falta. Años de lucha y gestiones en defensa de ese espacio natural han dado este feliz resultado, que desde Ugatza consideramos un primer e importante paso en la conservación de este espacio periurbano.

Desde el año 1989 buena parte del término municipal de Donostia-San Sebastián se encuentra declarada como zona de seguridad para el ejercicio de la caza, declaración realizada a propuesta del Ayuntamiento donostiarra y con el objetivo de establecer un cinturón de seguridad alrededor de Donostia-San Sebastián, garantizando la adecuada seguridad de las personas y de sus bienes. Mediante esta declaración se prohibió el ejercicio la caza en todas sus modalidades en dicha zona, con la excepción de la caza en puesto fijo autorizado, durante el período migratorio. En esta excepción a la prohibición general de la caza, se incluía el monte Ulia, desde el cuarto domingo de setiembre al cuarto domingo de noviembre, con un horario restringido los sábados, domingos y festivos hasta las diez de la mañana.

El 30 de octubre de 2009 la Junta de Portavoces del Ayuntamiento de Donostia-San Sebastián aprobó una declaración institucional, en la que se acordaba demandar a la Diputación Foral de Gipuzkoa que adoptase las medidas necesarias para decretar la prohibición de la actividad cinegética en la totalidad del monte Ulia.
Por su parte, el Ayuntamiento de Pasaia, en pleno celebrado el 26 de octubre de 2011, acordó también solicitar a la Diputación Foral de Gipuzkoa la prohibición de la caza en los terrenos del municipio en el monte Ulia.

Asimismo, las Juntas Generales de Gipuzkoa, en sendas resoluciones (74/2009 y 90/2010), instaron al Departamento de Desarrollo del Medio Rural a realizar una revisión de la Zona de Seguridad de Donostia-San Sebastián, teniendo en cuenta el futuro proyecto de parque en Ulia, aplicando criterios racionales de gestión, compatibilizando usos y primando criterios de seguridad.
La Diputación Foral de Gipuzkoa ha considerado, por fin!, atender la petición y proceder a la modificación de los límites y de las condiciones de la zona de seguridad de parte del término municipal de Donostia-San Sebastián.

La modificación consiste en la ampliación de los límites al municipio de Pasaia en Ulia y a la eliminación de los puestos de caza en dicho monte.

La Orden Foral en el BOG de hoy lunes.

Birds That Live With Varying Weather Sing More Versatile Songs

Iturria: ScienceDaily:

ScienceDaily (Aug. 3, 2012) — A new study of North American songbirds reveals that birds that live with fluctuating weather are more flexible singers.

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Northern oriole. Researchers analyzed song recordings from more than 400 male birds spanning 44 species of North American songbirds -- a data set that included orioles, blackbirds, warblers, sparrows, cardinals, finches, chickadees and thrushes. (Credit: © Richard L. Carlson / Fotolia)

Mixing it up helps birds ensure that their songs are heard no matter what the habitat, say researchers at Australian National University and the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center.
To test the idea, the researchers analyzed song recordings from more than 400 male birds spanning 44 species of North American songbirds -- a data set that included orioles, blackbirds, warblers, sparrows, cardinals, finches, chickadees and thrushes.
They used computer software to convert each sound recording -- a medley of whistles, warbles, cheeps, chirps, trills and twitters -- into a spectrogram, or sound graph. Like a musical score, the complex pattern of lines and streaks in a spectrogram enable scientists to see and visually analyze each snippet of sound.
For each bird in their data set, they measured song characteristics such as length, highest and lowest notes, number of notes, and the spacing between them.
When they combined this data with temperature and precipitation records and other information such as habitat and latitude, they found a surprising pattern -- males that experience more dramatic seasonal swings between wet and dry sing more variable songs.
"They may sing certain notes really low, or really high, or they may adjust the loudness or tempo," said co-author Clinton Francis of the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center.
The Pyrrhuloxia or desert cardinal from the American southwest and northern Mexico and Lawrence's goldfinch from California are two examples.
In addition to variation in weather across the seasons, the researchers also looked at geographic variation and found a similar pattern. Namely, species that experience more extreme differences in precipitation from one location to the next across their range sing more complex tunes. House finches and plumbeous vireos are two examples, Francis said.
Why might this be?
"Precipitation is closely related to how densely vegetated the habitat is," said co-author Iliana Medina of Australian National University. Changing vegetation means changing acoustic conditions.
"Sound transmits differently through different vegetation types," Francis explained. "Often when birds arrive at their breeding grounds in the spring, for example, there are hardly any leaves on the trees. Over the course of just a couple of weeks, the sound transmission changes drastically as the leaves come in."
"Birds that have more flexibility in their songs may be better able to cope with the different acoustic environments they experience throughout the year," Medina added.
A separate team reported similar links between environment and birdsong in mockingbirds in 2009, but this is the first study to show that the pattern holds up across dozens of species.
Interestingly, Francis and Medina found that species with striking color differences between males and females also sing more variable songs, which means that environmental variation isn't the only factor, the researchers say.

Cuckoo Tricks to Beat the Neighborhood Watch

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120802141525.htm#.UBuspEXe6Ec.google_plusone_share

ScienceDaily (Aug. 2, 2012) — To minimise the chance of being recognised and thus attacked by the birds they are trying to parasitize, female cuckoos have evolved different guises. The new research, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council, was published August 3, in the journal Science.

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Common Cuckoo in flight, Cuculus canorus. (Credit: © FLORIAN ANDRONACHE / Fotolia)

The common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) lays its eggs in the nests of other birds. On hatching, the young cuckoo ejects the host's eggs and chicks from the nest, so the hosts end up raising a cuckoo chick rather than a brood of their own. To fight back, reed warblers (a common host across Europe) have a first line of defence: they attack, or 'mob', the female cuckoo, which reduces the chance that their nest is parasitized.
Some female common cuckoos are grey and hawk-like, and previous research has shown that their resemblance to hawks reduces host bird attack. However, other females are bright rufous (brownish-red). The presence of alternate colour morphs in the same species is rare in birds, but frequent among the females of parasitic cuckoo species. The new research shows that this is another cuckoo trick: cuckoos combat reed warbler mobbing by coming in different guises.
Cuckoos are secretive. To widen their source of information about local cuckoo activity, reed warblers eavesdrop on the mobbing behaviour of their neighbours. In the study, the researchers manipulated local frequencies of the more common grey colour cuckoo and the less common (in the United Kingdom) rufous colour cuckoo by placing models of the birds at neighbouring nests. They then recorded how the experience of watching neighbours mob changed reed warbler responses back at their own nest.
They found that reed warblers increased their mobbing, but only to the cuckoo morph that their neighbours had mobbed. Therefore, as one cuckoo morph increases in frequency, local host populations will become alerted specifically to that morph. This means the alternate morph will be more likely to slip past host defences and lay undetected. This is the first time that 'social learning' has been documented in the evolution of mimicry as well as the evolution of different observable characteristics -- such as colour -- in the same species (called polymorphism).
Dr Rose Thorogood, of the University of Cambridge and co-author on the paper, said: "When mimetic disguises become less effective, evolving a polymorphism can be a successful trick. Our research shows that individuals assess disguises not only from personal experience, but also by observing others. However, because their learning is so specific, this social learning then selects for alternative cuckoo disguises and the arms race continues."
Professor Nick Davies, of the University of Cambridge and co-author on the paper, added: "It's well known that cuckoos have evolved various egg types which mimic those of their hosts in order to combat rejection. This research shows that cuckoos have also evolved alternate female morphs to sneak through the hosts' defences. This explains why many species which use mimicry, such as the cuckoo, evolve different guises."

Extinction Risk Factors for New Zealand Birds Today Differ from Those of the Past

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120802183952.htm#.UBus4YABqeM.google_plusone_share

ScienceDaily (Aug. 2, 2012) — What makes some species more prone to extinction? A new study of nearly 300 species of New Zealand birds -- from pre-human times to the present -- reveals that the keys to survival today differ from those of the past.

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Taupo Bay, New Zealand. What makes some species more prone to extinction? A new study of nearly 300 species of New Zealand birds -- from pre-human times to the present -- reveals that the keys to survival today differ from those of the past. (Credit: © Cloudia Newland / Fotolia)

The results are important in light of the growing number of studies that try to predict which species could be lost in the future based on what kinds of species are considered most threatened today, said lead author Lindell Bromham of Australian National University.
In the roughly 700 years since humans arrived in the remote islands that make up New Zealand, more than one out of four of New Zealand's native bird species have been wiped out.
Gone are birds such as the massive Haast's eagle, which weighed up to 33 pounds (15kg), and the giant moa, a flightless bird that stood up to ten feet (3m) tall.
Many species were hunted to extinction. Others were eaten by the animals humans brought with them -- such as cats, rats and weasels -- or pushed off their land as humans cleared and burned forests to make way for farms and pastures.
In a new study, a team of researchers examined whether biological traits such as body size might help scientists predict which species were likely to perish, and whether those risk factors held up over time.
To find out, they analyzed extinction patterns for New Zealand's native birds across four time periods in New Zealand's history, from pre-human times to the present. The data set included 274 species of living and extinct birds, such as ducks, penguins, geese, gulls, pigeons, parakeets and wrens.
The researchers looked for the biological traits that best predicted extinction risk in each time period. After accounting for similarities among closely related species, the researchers found that the traits that make some species more vulnerable today differ from what made species more prone to extinction in the past.
When the researchers compared the last 700 years of human occupation to pre-human times, for example, they found that flightless species such as moa and rails have been consistently hard-hit -- presumably because species that can't fly make easy snacks.
"There was no difference in extinction risk between flightless and flighted species until humans arrived," said co-author Robert Lanfear, currently a visiting researcher at the U.S. National Evolutionary Synthesis Center.
Other risk factors for extinction changed with each new wave of human settlement.
In the period after Polynesians appeared until Europeans arrived in the 1820s, for example, bigger species were more likely to die out. According to one study the extinct giant moa -- a group of ostrich-like birds that weighed up to 600 pounds (270 kg) -- was hunted to extinction within less than one hundred years.
The researchers were surprised to find that after Europeans arrived, size was no longer a factor. Instead, species having males and females of different color were the hardest hit -- possibly because those species were prized for museum collections.
Today, species that nest on the ground and lay only a few eggs at a time are considered most threatened, including the iconic kiwi, and a giant flightless parrot called the kakapo -- two birds found only in New Zealand.
Why do the extinction risk factors for New Zealand birds living today differ from those of the past? Size, for example, was only associated with extinction risk in the period after Polynesians arrived but before European settlement.
"It could be that that's when birds were most heavily hunted for food," Bromham said. "Or it might be that all the largest birds went extinct soon after human arrival, so now there are no longer enough large species to spot the raised extinction risk!"
"If extinction has already caused the loss of a susceptible trait, then this trait may no longer be relevant to surviving species even though it is still the original cause of past extinctions. This is known as an 'extinction-filter'," explained co-author Phillip Cassey of the University of Adelaide in Australia.
For studies of extinction risk, the results mean we should proceed with caution when analyzing different time periods. "We can't guarantee that the patterns we detect in contemporary extinction risk are the same as those that have caused extinctions in the past, or will be the ones that are most important in the future," Bromham said.

Amazing Deep Diving by Imperial Cormorant Bird

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120731160753.htm#.UBusmWNxOZs.google_plusone_share

ScienceDaily (July 31, 2012) — A team of researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the National Research Council of Argentina recently fitted a South American sea bird called an imperial cormorant with a small camera, then watched stunned as it became "superbird" -- diving 150 feet underwater in 40 seconds, feeding on the ocean floor for 80 seconds where it eventually caught a snakelike fish, before returning to the surface 40 seconds later.

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Imperial cormorants from Punta León in Argentina. (Credit: Wildlife Conservation Society)

This is the first time researchers have been able to watch first-hand the amazing feeding techniques of these fascinating birds, which occur off the coast of Argentina.
The footage shows the cormorant briefly on the surface before diving for the bottom. The camera is attached to the bird's back, so the view is of its head as it pumps its feet to swim deeper. When it finally reaches the ocean floor, it explores a vast area searching for food. It eventually finds an elongated fish, which it brings to the surface to eat.
The footage came from Punta León in Patagonia, Argentina, a coastal protected area supporting more than 3.500 pairs of imperial cormorants. A WCS scientific team, led by Dr. Flavio Quintana, has been studying the cormorants' feeding behavior for the past ten years. The team was joined by Dr. Carlos Zavalaga along with Ken Yoda from the University of Nogoya, Japan to fit the camera on the bird.
The WCS team has tracked more than 400 cormorants along the Patagonian Coast of Argentina using cutting edge technological tools such as multi-channel archival tags and high resolution GPS-loggers. This information will help identify priority feeding areas to help design new protected areas and to understand environmental conditions that affect cormorant populations.
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ4QAWKgBu4&feature=youtu.be

Iturria: Diagonal periódico

ANÁLISIS | LA REVALORIZACIÓN DE LOS RESIDUOS

La democracia de las corporaciones y la incineradora

La autora, urbanista, explica los intereses del lobby de la venta de energía en la puesta en marcha del proyecto de la incineradora de basuras para Gipuzkoa.

AMETS UGERRI

Martes 31 de julio de 2012.  Número 179

ZABALGARBI. Imagen de esta incineradora en Bizakia. (Foto: Jesús Villaseca)

El papel del sector público en materia de toma de decisiones políticas se ha orientado hacia nuevas formas de “gobernabilidad más allá del Estado”. La lógica de este modelo se basa en la actuación del poder público como agente definidor de estrategias, objetivos y actuaciones urbanísticas y el sector empresarial como contribuyente del capital inversor.

Así se va estableciendo lo que desde Análisis de Regímenes Urbanos (URA) se llama “formación de preferencias”. La existencia de unos agentes –principalmente vinculados a diferentes sectores económicos– y recursos determinados –capital inversor, experiencia previa en determinado tipo de estrategias de desarrollo– favorece la decisión de orientarse hacia objetivos concretos. En este contexto, desde las esferas de decisión, la colaboración público-privada está más “engrasada” y reporta mutuas satisfacciones y compensaciones, conformándose de esta manera un “poder sistémico”. En cambio, este poder llega al convencimiento de que la participación pública no sólo no es positiva para el desarrollo, sino que entorpece la eficacia a la que ha llegado la colaboración público- privada. Se afirma que la concertación y la construcción de consensos con los colectivos y agentes sociales tienen más “costes de oportunidad” para los gobiernos institucionales. Así, la participación ciudadana y las propuestas de grupos de la sociedad civil se enmarcan en el ámbito de lo “no factible”.

Un ejemplo de este modelo de gobernanza institucional se está dando en la esfera de la gestión de servicios y recursos públicos básicos: sanidad, gestión del agua, etc. así como en la de los Residuos Sólidos Urbanos (RSU). Por ley (Ley 7/1985 de Bases de Régimen Local) recae en los ayuntamientos la competencia/responsabilidad de la gestión de los RSU, que engloba tanto la recogida como el tratamiento posterior. La reciente Ley de Residuos (Ley 22/2011) en su artículo 12, relativo a la distribución de competencias en esta materia, dice que corresponde a las entidades locales la recogida, transporte y tratamiento de los RSU. De ese texto se deduce que el modelo será en primer término descentralizado, desde cada ayuntamiento, y que en su caso podrán adoptar formas consorciadas de gestión común, pero siempre desde el ámbito de decisión de la autonomía local. Entonces, ¿cómo es posible que se plantee una solución centralizada como es una incineradora para toda Gipuzkoa como se hizo desde la Diputación Foral en la legislatura anterior?

Esta planta se dedica a la “valorización energética” de la basura. Esto significa que por un lado factura a los ayuntamientos por “tratar su basura” a precios que se aprueban en el Consejo de Administración de Zabalgarbi, y por otro lado, y en aplicación del RD 661/2007 que regula la actividad de producción de energía eléctrica en régimen especial, como productora de “energía renovable” es beneficiaria de una serie de primas e incentivos, además de subvenciones directas y bonificaciones fiscales.

El antecedente de esta planta, la bizkaína Zabalgarbi, llegó a facturar 68 millones de euros en 2011, con un beneficio neto declarado de tres millones. Así, la incineradora es un negocio doble y, tras la valorización energética, que consiste en una combustión asistida mediante inyección de gas, como una planta de ciclo combinado, se generan hasta 682 Gw/hora, el equivalente al consumo doméstico del 30% de los hogares de Bizkaia, según datos de la Diputación Foral de Bizakia.

Pero esta producción no se distribuye entre esos hogares, sino que se vende a las compañías distribuidoras por todos conocidas y su tarifación engrosa las cuentas de Zabalgarbi y la de sus socios (60% capital privado). O sea, tú ciudadano pagas para que “traten” tu basura, y eso que a ti te cobran como residuo, en la planta incineradora se convierte en materia de combustión para producir energía que se vierte a la red general y que acabas pagando en tu factura a la compañía eléctrica, y además, al ser de régimen especial, pasa a engrosar el denominado déficit tarifario.

Exportadora de energía

Euskadi es un territorio importador de energía bruta y exportador de energía procesada, a través de la refinería de Petronor en Somorrostro y la enorme potencia instalada de plantas de producción de “ciclo combinado” de combustión de gas: Bahía de Bizkaia-Zierbana (Iberdrola- EVE-Repsol-BP) y Boroa- Amorebieta (Sener-General Electric- ACS). La “industria energética” en Euskadi destina un excedente para la exportación del 65,6% de la producción total, con una facturación de 15.000 millones. Esto supone un balance de huella ecológica entre facturación económica/contaminantes atmosféricos de 25.500 toneladas de CO2 excedentarias.

En conclusión: el lobby energético en Euskadi, aparte de la política energética, también lidera la política de gestión de residuos, tanto RSU como industriales, hacia su “valorización” energética, dando un vuelco a la jerarquía de prioridades marcadas por la normativa tanto europea como interna (reducción-reutilización- reciclaje-revalorización, por ese orden), generando un gran negocio de servicio (recogida y tratamiento de residuos) y energético (producción de energía eléctrica mediante combustión).

Como resultado, el lobby energético (15.000 millones de euros de facturación anual) presiona a los partidos políticos para que la política sobre residuos se encamine hacia la incineración, éstos se justifican en los beneficios de autoabastecimiento energético que conllevaría ese método, pero que en Euskadi no deberían tener eco mediático, puesto que, en primer lugar, la dependencia energética principalmente es de hidrocarburos para el consumo del sector industrial (45%) y de transporte (33%), y no tanto de consumo eléctrico, que representa el 21% del total, y en que las renovables, a pesar de que la solar está muy poco desarrollada en comparación con Alemania, por ejemplo, ya abastecen una tercera parte del consumo.

JUEZ Y PARTE EN POLÍTICA ENERGÉTICA

El Ente Vasco de la Energía (EVE) es una agencia pública dependiente del Gobierno Vasco que actúa como facilitador institucional y participa en el accionariado de las plantas de tratamiento de residuos, condicionando la política pública en la materia hacia esa “solución”. El antecedente de la estrategia tomada para la incineradora de Guipuzkoa es un proceso muy similar al que ya se dio en Bizkaia en la década anterior: la incineradora Zabalgarbi. La planta de incineración de RSU de Bizkaia se construyó en 2001, en el término municipal de Bilbao, con un presupuesto de 154 millones de euros. Para acometer esta infraestructura se constituyó una sociedad mercantil denominada Zabalgarbi, que en la actualidad cuenta con los siguientes socios: FCC (30%), Sener (30%), Diputación Foral de Bizkaia (20%), Ente Vasco de la Energia (10%), Kutxabank (5%) y Mancomunidad de la Margen Izquierda (5%). En origen el Ministerio de Industria participaba con el 10% de las acciones, que en el año 2008 fueron adquiridas a partes iguales por los socios mayoritarios (FCC y Sener).

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