Hidrogea and the Asociación Naturalista del Sureste (ANSE) have started the construction of five floating islands to promote breeding among aquatic birds in the lagoons of the Cabezo Beaza wastewater treatment plant (Cartagena).

Four of the structures have a surface area of 9 m2, while the fifth covers 6 m2, and will allow more breeding pairs to build their nests, as the banks of the lagoons lack the vegetation needed for nesting by many species of ducks, coots and moorhens, among others.

The islands with have a covering of bog plants, such as bulrushes (Typha), yellow iris (Iris pseudoacorus) and swamp sawgrass (Cladium mariscus), which provide shelter for the birds and protect them from possible predators.

These new islands will join the two existing ones, which have already provided nesting ground for three breeding pairs of white-headed ducks (Oxyura leucocephala), a globally threatened species classified in Spain as in danger of extinction.

The actions are part of the agreement between Hidrogea and ANSE to promote biodiversity in the Cabezo Beaza treatment plant.