Government awards €714k in contracts for seven endangered species recovery plans

The government has awarded contracts to two companies to implement recovery plans for seven endangered animal species, committing a total of €714,222.67 over five years (2025–2029).

Ambient, Biologia i Tècnica M&S will carry out the plans for the common toad (€174,427.92) and the wildcat (€202,834.50). Biologia i Comunicació SL will manage recovery actions for four nocturnal raptors—the barn owl (Tyto alba), the scops owl (Otus scops), the eagle owl (Bubo bubo) and the Pyrenean owl—under a combined contract of €215,165.50, and for the local species known as the "serenalla pallaresa" (€121,794.75).

The contracts were put out to public tender on the same day the government formally approved the recovery plans, with the stated aim of beginning implementation as quickly as possible. The plans, established under the Law on the Conservation of the Natural Environment, Biodiversity and Landscape, are designed to assess the conservation status of each species, identify causes of decline, and define and schedule the actions needed to conserve and restore populations and habitats.

According to the government spokesman, Guillem Casal, the recovery plans have been drafted by experts and validated by the Commission for Coordination and Development of the National Biodiversity Strategy (CENBA). CENBA includes representatives from the government, the local councils (comuns), farming and livestock sectors, the Andorran Federation of Hunting and Fishing (FACIP), ski-resort management, nature conservation organisations, research institutions and motor-vehicle federations.

With these seven projects the country now has 22 approved recovery plans since 2024, representing a total planned investment of more than €1.3 million for the 2024–2029 period, part of efforts to preserve biodiversity and curb ongoing declines.