For a night with more life" is the motto of the new nature conservation project, LIFE Natura@night, coordinated by the Sociedade Portuguesa para o Estudo das Aves (SPEA) and in which the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) participates.

After more than a decade dedicated to reducing the impact of light on biodiversity, the Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds (SPEA) is now launching an innovative and ambitious project, in collaboration with 12 institutions from Madeira, Azores and the Canary Islands. Mapping and reducing light pollution in 27 protected areas in Macaronesia, halting the loss of biodiversity in 150,000 hectareas and contributing to the regulation of lighting are some of the objectives of LIFE Natura@night, which aims to combine energy sustainability, economic savings and biodiversity conservation.

The solutions are not only to switch off unnecessary luminaires, but also to ensure that lamps project light where it is needed, preventing light from being wasted.

The LIFE Natura@night project - Reducing and Mitigating the Impact of Light Pollution on Natura 2000 areas in Macaronesia, will run for the next four years and involves partners at the level of local authorities, research institutions, regional governments, non-profit organisations and private companies.

In the Canary Islands, the project is being implemented by the Sociedad Española de Ornitología (SEO), the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) and the Instituto Tecnológico de Canarias (ITC). From the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, the actions will focus on the installation of photometers to measure light pollution, continuing the work started in the INTERREG EELabs project.

The LIFE Natura@night project is co-financed by the LIFE programme of the European Union, coordinated by the SPEA, and has as partners the Câmara de Lobos, the Câmara Municipal do Funchal, the Câmara Municipal de Santa Cruz, the Câmara Municipal de Machico, the Câmara Municipal de Santana, the Câmara Municipal de Santa Cruz da Graciosa, Direção Regional dos Assuntos do Mar, Instituto das Florestas e Conservação da Natureza, Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Instituto Tecnológico de Canarias, Fluxo de Luz and the Sociedad Española de Ornitología.

https://spea.pt/projetos/life-naturanight/