The Environment recovery plan ensures that the Silene de Ifach is no longer an endangered species. According to the data, in 2023 a total of 57 populations of this species have been recorded with 1.292 census specimens, of which 632 are considered reproductive adults.
In this sense, the results achieved in the development of the Recovery Plan for Silene hifacensis or Silene de Ifach in the Valencian Community "have meant a positive evolution, both in the number of populations and specimens and in their distribution area", as as recognized by the general director of Medio Natural, Raúl Mérida.
Mérida has highlighted that "this recovery plan aims to reach population values that justify the passage of this plant from the endangered category to the vulnerable category." At this time, the proposal to change category has the approval of the Scientific Committee of Flora and Fauna of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition, so it will be included in the future review of the List of wild species under special protection regime with a lower threat category than it currently was.
The recovery plan, included in the European Agricultural Fund of the Rural Fund (EAFRD), consists of sowing seeds of Silene hifacensis, which come from the collections of live plants maintained in the natural parks of Penyal d'Ifac and El Montgó, as well as in the nurseries of the Center for Forest Research and Experimentation of the Generalitat Valenciana (CIEF); the Los Carrascos Landscape and Environmental Interpretation Center in l'Alfàs del Pi and the IES Rodolfo Llopis in Callosa d'en Sarrià.
«As a matter of fact, in 2023 the seed-producing orchards have provided more than two million seeds. For example, in Penyal d'Ifac, the presence of new plants has also been observed in places where seeds were not introduced," Mérida explained.
The Silene hifacensis Working Group in the Valencian Community is currently coordinated by the conservation team of the Wildlife Service and Red Natura, together with the technical assistance of the Territorial Service of Alicante, technicians and brigades of the Natural Parks of El Montgó, Penyal d'Ifac and Serra Gelada, environmental agents of the Alicante and València Altitude Intervention Group, as well as different entities external to the Generalitat, such as the City Councils of l'Alfàs del Pi, Benidorm and Altea.
