The Biodiversity Foundation, a public foundation of the Government of Spain, under the Ministry of the Environment, Rural and Marine Affairs, has held, today, at its headquarters in Madrid, the first meeting of the Advisory Board of the “LIFE+ European Capital for Biodiversity” Project, made up of an international team of experts and the project partners.

The meeting was also attended by representatives of the Network of Local Governments +Biodiversity 2010, the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces – two entities with which the Biodiversity Foundation has already promoted the Competition of projects for the increase of biodiversity – and the Sustainable Development Committee of the Council of Europe.

Co-financed by the European Commission at 50 percent, through the LIFE+ Programme, the project – which has a budget of 1.6 million euros – aims to promote and motivate local government initiatives on biodiversity conservation issues.

The Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) of Germany, the Regional Centre for the Environment (REC) of Slovakia, the Lake Balaton Coordination and Development Office (LBDCA) of Hungary, NatureParif of France, ICLEI – Regional Governments for Sustainability of Europe and the IUCN Regional Office for Europe participate in this pilot experience, which is promoted in Spain by the Biodiversity Foundation.

The actions include the organisation and development of a competition in each of the five partner countries – Germany, Slovakia, Spain, France and Hungary – to reward local initiatives whose mission is to alleviate the loss of urban biodiversity.

A contest for local biodiversity

As part of the LIFE+ European Capital for Biodiversity project, the Biodiversity Foundation will launch, in two unique calls (in January 2010 and January 2011) a competition with the aim of encouraging and rewarding initiatives of local authorities on issues of biodiversity conservation. It will be aimed at town councils, provincial councils, town councils and island councils of the Spanish State.

Its contents, as well as the bases for its participation, will arise from coordinated and consensual work between the representative entities of the partner countries. The competition will take place simultaneously in the five countries, in order to establish the bases of a great European competition.

The categories that will be taken into account in the evaluation will be: municipal green areas; planning instruments; conservation of species and ecosystems; agriculture and forestry; water management; organization and cooperation, as well as communication and environmental education.