The European Commission has selected the project “Inventory and designation of the Natura 2000 Network in Marine Areas of the Spanish State” that the Biodiversity Foundation presented for funding in the 2007 call for LIFE+ Nature.

It is one of the largest LIFE+ Nature projects approved by the EC in its history and a great challenge for the Biodiversity Foundation, a public foundation of the Government of Spain, under the Ministry of the Environment, Rural and Marine Affairs. The work will begin on January 1, with an expected duration of 5 years.

The aim is to obtain sufficient scientific information to preserve large areas of the Spanish marine environment through the designation of Sites of Community Importance (SCI) and Special Protection Areas for Birds (SPAs) of the Natura 2000 Network. The action is planned in ten large study areas: Creus Canyon, Ebro-Columbretes Delta, Menorca Channel, Seco de los Olivos, Alborán Island and Alborán volcanic cones, Chimeneas de Cádiz, Banco de Galicia, Avilés Canyon, Banco de la Concepción, and Gran Canaria-Fuerteventura Area.

Management guidelines will also be drawn up for the proposed sites and awareness-raising actions will be undertaken on the importance of the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity. The project also aims to strengthen compliance with the international conventions on the sea signed by the Government of Spain (OSPAR and Barcelona).

The project has a total cost of 15,405,727 euros, of which the EC will contribute 50 percent. The Biodiversity Foundation will allocate 2,636,811 euros to the project, and the rest will be financed by 10 other partners, including the Directorate-General for Fisheries Resources and Aquaculture and the Directorate-General for the Natural Environment and Forest Policy of the Ministry of the Environment, Rural and Marine Affairs, as well as the Spanish National Research Council and the Spanish Institute of Oceanography.

Other institutions involved in it will play an important role, such as OCEANA, WWF/Adena, Alnitak, the Coordinator for the Study of Marine Mammals, the Spanish Society for the Study of Cetaceans in the Canary Islands and SEO/BirdLife.

It also has the support of the Merchant Navy of the Ministry of Public Works, the Navy Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence and the Secretary of State for the European Union of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Natura 2000 is a European ecological network of biodiversity conservation areas. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation, designated in accordance with the Habitats Directive, and Special Protection Areas for Birds, established under the Birds Directive. It aims to ensure the survival of the species and habitats most at risk in Europe. It is the main instrument for nature conservation in the European Union.

The LIFE+ financial instrument contributes to the development, implementation and updating of EU environmental policy and legislation. It is also a question of facilitating the integration of the environment into other policies and achieving sustainable development in the European Union.