The director of the Biodiversity Foundation, a public foundation of the Government of Spain, under the Ministry of the Environment, Rural and Marine Affairs, Ana Leiva, has signed today in Barcelona a collaboration agreement with the President of Nereo, Preserver of the Environment, Albert Colomer, to develop the forMAR project that promotes employment and good environmental practices in that region. within the framework of the Empleaverde Program. The Sub-delegate of the Government, Montserrat García Llovera, also participated in the event.

The Biodiversity Foundation, as the managing body of the European Social Fund (ESF), allocates 316,890 euros to promote job creation and the improvement of the environment in Catalonia.

This investment will serve to develop, in addition to the Nereo project, the ENPlea Sostenible initiatives of Europarc Spain; that of the Confederation of Organizations of Foresters of Spain, which will be committed to sustainable management with training actions among owners of forest exploitations and that of the Technical Association for Waste Management, Urban Cleaning and Environment (ATEGRUS) for the reconversion of labor towards this sector.

Specifically, the forMAR project – aimed mainly at workers in the nautical, port, fishing and environmental sectors – aims to improve the qualification of workers and the internal processes of companies, to contribute to the conservation and preservation of the coastal and marine environment.

In addition to raising awareness among workers and managers on issues such as waste management and everything related to the protection of the marine environment, there are proposals to update the internal processes of companies, through the application of environmental management systems, the best available techniques and adapting economic activities to environmental regulations.

The project also seeks to have an impact on another nautical sector, such as anchorage buoy concessions, which usually affect the seabed. According to Nereo, studying and applying ecological anchoring methods will contribute to achieving conservation objectives.

Finally, and aimed at workers in the environmental sector, the project offers tools to improve their possibilities of work in the field of environmental management in the field of nautical companies, with good options for the future.

THE PROGRAM IN NUMBERS

Through the Empleaverde Programme, the Foundation manages the funds allocated to it by the Adaptability and Employment Operational Programme of the European Social Fund (ESF) for the period 2007-2013. The 49 projects approved in this call add up to an amount of 11.8 million euros.

The empleaverde programme has set goals for the period 2007-2013 to support more than 50,000 people and promote the creation of 1,000 companies in the environmental sector. To this end, it has a total endowment of 44.1 million euros, of which the European Social Fund co-finances between 50% and 80% of the projects, depending on the regions in which they are developed.

Within the framework of these projects, nearly a thousand different actions will be carried out: courses, conferences, information and communication campaigns, personalized advice, among others.

These initiatives will contribute to the creation of almost 150 direct jobs, since the entities plan to hire personnel for their development. In addition, more than 250,000 workers will be involved through the projects and more than 550 economic activities are expected to be launched.