Despite the fact that many areas of the Parga-Ladra-Támoga SCI are in a very natural state and well conserved, the action carried out by man during recent years (the construction of roads, the drying out of land, the expanding of cultivation and forests) has caused significant damage to the a medium, reducing the population of the most sensitive species (Eryngium viviparum Gay, Luronium natans (L.) Rafin, Margaritifera margaritifera L.).

The problems or threats which are present in this area are basically the following:

• The inadequate use of soil



• Changes in the system of the exploitation of agriculture and forests



• The drying out and silting of the mediums which are temporarily flooded



• Alteration in the ecological quality of water ecosystems



• Isolation of existing populations of species of community interest



• The increase of the present expectations as regards leisure use without enough regulation



• Invasion by foreign species like Azolla filiculoides Lam.



• The increasing of the repopulation with foreign species which grow rapidly (Eucalyptus globulus, Eucalyptus nitens, Pinus radiata, Populus sp.)



• The cutting down of native vegetation and the elimination of trees from the bank



• The increase in urban speculation



• Slurry waste in agricultural land



• Flow of waste water into the rivers



• The natural values which exist in the SCI are held in low esteem

Faced with these threats and under the LIFE-Nature programme,we have proposed a project to recover and manage these 3 species to be conserved which are present in 2 specific areas of the SCI:Parga-Ladra and Insuas do Miño. These projects will at the same time contribute to the conservation of other species and habitats in the SCI.

Although human pressure on the upper basin of the Miño has been damaging in many ways it has also contributed to the mosaic of landscapes present in this area.

The close relation between man and the river developed over the years which we can see in the Water Culture (mills, weirs, flat bottomed boats) has maintained many aquatic or marshy areas in a pristine state with a wide variety of plants and animals of interest internationally, in Europe and in Spain.

These areas are a point of reference when we talk about the environmental and ecological conditions under which endemic species,species in danger of extinction and threatened species live. The information obtained from these ecosystems is of vital importance to set up projects of management,recovery and renovation which can then be taken up in other places with similar biogeographical and ecological features.