In 1993, the kickstart of the of the project “Conservation of the Castro Verde Steppe Avifauna” (the materialization of the LPN’s applications to European Union funding) was the formal beginning of the LPN’s intervention in Castro Verde. That is, of the Sustainable Castro Verde Program.

Developed in two stages – 1993 to 1995 and 1996 to 1999 –, in the scope of two applications to LIFE-Nature, the Program enabled the acquisition of five estates corresponding to high importance areas in the Castro Verde region for the preservation of threatened steppe birds as the Great Bustard, the Little Bustard and the Lesser Kestrel.

A management plan was developed to each of those areas which took into account several types of agricultural, erected heritage and water course management actions. These areas’ agricultural management takes place through yearly agreements with the region’s farmers who commit to follow a few conditions with the purpose of creating better conditions for the avifauna and to protect their habitat.

Since the acquisition of the estates actions of water course recovery were carried out, gates and fences were put into place and information panels installed. All estates are classified as No-Hunting Areas (ZIC), thus providing a quiet sheltering site to birds where hunting is forbidden. Scientific studies on the biology of some of the bird species and the impact of farming practices on them were also conducted.

This was accompanied by several actions to improve the nesting conditions of the Lesser Kestrel (restoration of houses in ancient Alentejo “montes” with colonies and construction of nesting towers/walls), to minimize the death of birds by collision with barbed wire fences (particularly of Great Bustards) as well as with power fences through signaling.

More recently, in the scope of the Project LIFE Steppe Birds, an extra 168 hectares of land were acquired in important areas for the conservation of steppe birds. With a total of 1812 ha to date, the set of the LPN’s 6 estates in the region of Castro Verde are the largest privately-owned area in Portugal devoted to the conservation, valorization and promotion of the existing natural landscape habitat.