The Minister of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, Miguel Arias Cañete, chaired the meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Biodiversity Foundation, a forum in which Sonia Castañeda Rial, who has held the position of director of the International Department of this institution for the last seven years, has been appointed as the new director of the Foundation.

The Minister of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, Miguel Arias Cañete, chaired the meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Biodiversity Foundation, a forum in which Sonia Castañeda Rial, who has held the position of director of the International Department of this institution for the last seven years, has been appointed as the new director of the Foundation.

With a degree in Law and a Master’s Degree in Legal, Economic and Social Organization of the Environment, she has fifteen years of experience in environmental issues, especially in the areas of international cooperation and management of community funds, in particular, the European Social Fund. Part of his career is the design and implementation of initiatives such as the Empleaverde Programme and the Emprendeverde Network of the Biodiversity Foundation.

The new Director has assumed her appointment “as a recognition of the Foundation and its entire team”, pointing out that the fact that the Board of Trustees had opted for a person from the organization itself means “that the excellent work done is valued”.

In relation to her future management, Sonia Castañeda pointed out that “we are in difficult times and this will require working with maximum efficiency, austerity and profitability; thus, the Biodiversity Foundation will continue to demonstrate that it is a solvent and profitable institution to work with civil society and develop projects on the ground”.

The Biodiversity Foundation, founded in 1998 and attached to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, works to preserve natural heritage and biodiversity, directing its conservation to the generation of employment, wealth and well-being in society as a whole, with special attention to rural areas. To fulfil its mission, its activity is structured around five strategic lines of action such as the conservation of biodiversity, the sustainable development of the rural environment, the fight against climate change, the conservation of the marine environment and international cooperation.