The initiative seeks to increase the surface area of wetlands suitable for the marbled teal in the Iberian southeast, as well as for other threatened species associated with wetlands with different degrees of protection (SPAs, Ramsar Wetlands, SPIMs, Natural Parks, etc.). The initiative seeks to increase the surface area of wetlands suitable for the marbled teal in the Iberian southeast, as well as for other threatened species associated with wetlands with different degrees of protection (SPAs, Ramsar Wetlands, SPIMs, Natural Parks, etc.).

The project contemplates a series of objectives. The first is to create two wetlands suitable for the marbled teal by:

• The naturalisation of an abandoned public lagoon treatment plant, mainly using urban rainwater and irrigation drains and preventing its arrival at the Mar Menor or treatment plants (La Loma, El Algar, Cartagena).
• The restoration of the Carrizales wetland for the recreation of the suitable habitat for the marbled teal, through the expansion of the partially executed lagoon, favouring the upwelling of the underlying aquifer.

New habitats will also be established for other threatened species associated with the wetlands, with special attention to the fartet (Aphanius Iberus), the duck (Oxyura leucocephala) and the eel (Anguilla anguilla), and the recovery of old breeding areas of waders (black-winged stilt, Kentish plover) and ducks (white shelduck).

In addition, the quality of the habitats created for the marbled teal will be improved, through the implementation of nutritional species and installation of nest houses, elimination of hunting, control of water quality and evaluation of ornithological communities.

It also seeks to provide the Mar Menor with an infrastructure for interpretation, dissemination and observation of the biodiversity associated with wetlands, in addition to disseminating the objectives of the project to the public, allowing their participation and involvement in it.

The activities that will finally be developed are the following:

1. Wetland development.
2. Production of native plants and restoration of their vegetation cover.
3. Actions to promote fauna in wetlands.
4. Physical-chemical and biological monitoring of the wetland.
5. Dissemination, awareness-raising and sensitization work.