The LIFE+ INDEMARES project of the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment has been awarded today at the Voice of the Sea International Awards, at a gala held in the town of Vigo and which recognizes innovative or relevant contributions in the field of maritime activity.
 
The director of the Biodiversity Foundation, Sonia Castañeda, collected the Award and thanked “the more than 300 people involved in this project for their participation. A project that has been a milestone for science and for the protection of our marine spaces and that we now have the challenge of managing in a sustainable and responsible way”.  
 
These awards, organized by the Youth Biennial of Maritime Activities (BIAMAR), were created with the purpose of recognizing the professional merits of people and public or private organizations that contribute to the improvement of the maritime and environmental field, as well as the dissemination, protection or research of maritime activity in any facet.
 
The LIFE+ INDEMARES project has been a milestone for the conservation of marine biodiversity, providing the scientific basis for the expansion of the Natura 2000 Network in the marine environment. As the main result of this project, 39 marine SPAs (Special Protection Areas for Birds) and 10 SCIs (Sites of Community Importance) have been declared, representing 7.3 million hectares. This area, added to that declared prior to the project, means the protection of 8% of the State’s marine area, thus contributing to the Convention on Biological Diversity’s objective of protecting 10% of marine regions.

In addition to the LIFE+ INDEMARES project, in this edition the Platform in Defense of Shortwave of Radio Exterior of Spain, the National Federation of Fishermen’s Guilds, Ceinmarnet (Network of Campuses of International Excellence in the Marine Field) and the prestigious doctor Sylvia Alice Earle have also been awarded.