Pink flocks in Priolo Gargallo

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Even closer relations between 8o ornithologists and the flamingos of the Priolo Gargallo Salt pan Reserve, the Lipu oasis to the north of Syracuse. After three consecutive years of nesting, made possible thanks to the control of the waters by Enel’s solar thermodynamic Archimede plant, we could say that the relationship is in full swing.

Following activities a few days ago on 27 July to enable the recognition of 120 chicks, the convention “The flamingos of the Mediterranean- stories of hope and an all pink success,” was held in Palazzo Francica Nava in Syracuse as part of an initiative by Enel and the cultural association Onlus Exedra.

“We can now attract very large tourist influxes,” explained Fulvio Mamone Capria, national president of Lipu, “especially during the months of February, April and May, when the large migrations occur. In Europe there are over 2 million passionate members of ornithological associations, to whom we have made available the Guglia di Marcello Natura trail and the Priolo Visitor Centre of the Salt pan Reserve, two projects created recently with key contributions from Enel.”

Four of the ten protected islands in the coastal marsh area have become permanent sites for flamingo reproduction, an extremely rare phenomenon in habitats occupied by humans and located within Italy’s latitudes. The synergic work between Enel, Lipu and the Priolo Gargallo Council has given life to a small natural miracle.

“This collaboration demonstrates once again that sustainability is in our company’s soul,” explained Stefano Terrana, Enel representative for Institutional Affairs in Sicily and Michele Vinci, director of the Enel Archimede plant, underlining the synergic commitment “that enables us to contribute to the development and appreciation of the territory where the plant is located.”

In the Priolo Gargallo Reserve, once praised by classical poets such as Virgil and Ovid, surveys have registered the presence of 216 species of birds, around 40% of the total of those observed in Italy. With the return of the flamingos and Enel’s constant care of the water, the future can only be rose-tinted.