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, signed two collaboration agreements with the Government of Navarre today in Pamplona. The first of them, signed by Ana Leiva and the Minister of Rural Development and the Environment, Begoña Sanzberro, aims to develop actions aimed at the management of the spaces included in the Natura 2000 Network and the protection of the Network of Livestock Trails of Navarra. The Foundation will allocate 125,000 euros to this initiative and the Government of Navarra, 100,000.

In addition, within the framework of the Empleaverde Programme of the European Social Fund, an agreement has been signed with Andrés Eciolaza, president of the Environmental Resources Centre Foundation of Navarra, a foundation attached to the Department of Rural Development and the Environment, for a total amount of 406,656.25 euros. This investment, which will serve to promote employment and good environmental practices in Navarre, is co-financed as follows: 50% by the European Social Fund, through the Biodiversity Foundation; 42% by the Government of Navarre; 4% by La Caixa and another 4% by the Confederation of Entrepreneurs of Navarre.

The Biodiversity Foundation is the managing body of the European Social Fund (F.S.E.) and in 2008 it allocated 14.8 million euros to finance 32 projects aimed at improving employment and the environment, through the Empleaverde Programme. One of these initiatives is the one that will be developed in Navarre.

According to the objectives of the 32 approved projects, it is estimated that more than 13,000 workers will be trained, some 300 enterprises or business activities in the environmental sector will be created or started and more than 300,000 workers will be involved in the activities of the projects.

Within the framework of this programme, the Foundation manages the funds allocated to it by the Adaptability and Employment Operational Programme of the European Social Fund (F.S.E.) for the period 2007-2013.

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 allocation during the years 2007-2013 of 44.1 million euros, of which the European Social Fund co-finances 50% or 80%, depending on the regions in which the projects are developed.

The objectives of the Empleaverde Programme are: to promote and improve employment; increase the skills and qualifications of workers; to promote the creation and modernization of companies; adapting economic activities to environmental regulations; and promoting sustainability in economic activities.

Sustainable business activities in Navarre

The project to be launched by the Environmental Resources Centre Foundation of Navarra, called EcoinnovaRSE, aims to contribute effectively to sustainable competitiveness in companies in this Autonomous Community. In other words, companies and workers must integrate the environment as a priority competitiveness factor in business management, through the increase of skills and qualifications of workers in environmental and sustainability issues, in order to improve employment in general and in the environmental sector, in particular; the promotion of business modernisation by promoting sustainability; and the adaptation of business activity to environmental regulations.

In addition, another of the fundamental objectives of this initiative is to implement environmental management and corporate social responsibility systems in SMEs in the environmental sector and other industrial and service sectors in Navarre.

All the actions of the project are aimed at workers and managers of SMEs and micro-enterprises, as well as self-employed workers. The main sectors of activity affected are environmental services, companies that have started the implementation of an environmental management system or have one already implemented and/or certified, and other sectors such as agri-food, hospitality, metal, automotive, construction, wood, graphic arts, plumbing, transport, gardening, textiles, chemicals and production of environmental goods.

With this initiative, 14 training actions will be carried out that will reach a total of 7,744 recipients, who will participate in the different activities of the project.

Development of actions in the Natura 2000 Network and protection of the Network of Livestock Trails

The Director of the Biodiversity Foundation has also signed with the Minister of Rural Development and the Environment, Begoña Sanzberro, the 2008 Annual Programme of the Joint Action Plan between the Government of Navarre and the Biodiversity Foundation. This initiative, which involves an investment of 225,000 euros – of which the Foundation will contribute 125,000 and the Government of Navarra, 100,000 – will be used for the management of the spaces included in the Natura 2000 Network and the protection of the Network of Livestock Trails of Navarra.

This initiative has been developed since December 2006, when the Joint Action Plan was signed between the Government of Navarre and the Biodiversity Foundation “for the development of actions aimed at the management of the areas included in the Natura 2000 Network and the protection of the Network of Livestock Trails of Navarre”.

Within the framework of this agreement, throughout 2007, actions were carried out on the classification and conditioning of livestock trails, installation of infrastructures for conservation purposes, studies and inventories of avifauna, mammals, reptiles, crustaceans, bivalves and floristics.

The 2008 Annual Programme consists of actions related to the improvement of livestock infrastructures linked to the conservation of the brown bear (livestock sleeves and huts for shepherds) and with studies and inventories of birdlife, amphibians, crustaceans, bivalve molluscs and flora.