The Minister of the Environment, Rural and Marine Affairs, Elena Espinosa, has highlighted, at the event commemorating the “Day of the Oceans”, that the MARM will support initiatives that contribute to preserving, conserving and regenerating the marine environment.

The minister also pointed out that measures aimed at the conservation and sustainable use of the seas are a constant in the Government’s policy. In addition, he indicated that in this line of work, the Ministry will continue to collaborate with all those initiatives of other bodies and institutions such as the LIFE project promoted by the Biodiversity Foundation.

Elena Espinosa stressed that it is in the seas and oceans where the development of renewable energies, mineral resources and a large number of genetic resources are located, as well as the future of biotechnology, or the role of these large bodies of water in mitigating climate change.

The minister also stressed that the Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs, with the collaboration of the Spanish Institute of Oceanography, will continue to promote scientific knowledge of the marine environment, which serves as a basis for making decisions and formulating policies to minimise the impact of fishing activity in vulnerable areas, to protect emblematic species and to prevent accidental captures of endangered species.

On the other hand, the minister indicated that in recent years the objectives set within the Rio Convention on Biological Diversity have been assumed and the Natura 2000 Network has been promoted and equipped with instruments that allow its conservation and development, with special attention to the marine environment through the creation of Marine Protected Areas.