On March 15, the partners of LIFE Pro Bearded Vulture, FCQ, MITECO, the Government of Aragon, and the Associaçao Naturaleza y Hombre Portugal, met in Vila Real (Portugal), with representatives of the Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e das Florestas (ICNF). At the meeting, various aspects of the LIFE project were discussed and it was agreed to develop a training course for ICNF technicians in the management of the species. The feasibility of developing the Probiodiversity strategy in Portugal for the promotion of extensive sheep and goat farming was also discussed, which would be in synergy with the Landscape Transformation Plans, an innovative Portuguese initiative to reduce the risk of forest fires.

MITECO presented the need to renew the Spanish bearded vulture conservation strategy, which is an opportunity for the development of a joint Spanish-Portuguese strategy, similar to that of the imperial eagle. To advance in this line, the MITECO committed to prepare a draft of the future Iberian strategy for the conservation of the bearded vulture that will be shared with the ICNF and the autonomous communities for discussion. Representing the Portuguese government were, among others, Carlos Alburquerque, Director of the Department of Nature and Biodiversity Conservation, Sandra Sarmento, Regional Director of ICNF in the Northern Region of Portugal, and Jorge Días, Director of Nature Conservation in the Northern Region. The Spanish administration was represented by Miguel Aymerich and Borja Heredia, from MITECO, and Manuel Alcántara, head of the biodiversity service of the Government of Aragón.