The LIFE IP INTEMARES project has initiated conservation actions for species and habitats of the Natura 2000 Network in the Spanish marine environment.
The LIFE IP INTEMARES project has begun its journey with the implementation of the conservation actions of species and habitats of the Natura 2000 Network in the Spanish marine environment . The partners of the first and only integrated nature LIFE project in Spain, coordinated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and the Environment through the Biodiversity Foundation, have shared the status of the actions in the management committee held today in Madrid.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and the Environment, which also acts as a partner through the Directorate General for Sustainability of the Coast and the Sea. The Spanish Institute of Oceanography, WWF-Spain, SEO/BirdLife and the Spanish Fisheries Confederation are also partners in the project and are part of the management committee, all involved in this initiative that aims to achieve a consolidated network of marine spaces in the Natura 2000 Network managed in an effective and integrated way, with the active participation of the sectors involved and knowledge as basic tools for decision-making.
Within this framework, the partners have already addressed the actions initiated, including the preparatory actions for the conservation of species and habitats of the marine Natura 2000 Network. In this first quarter , the first steps have also been taken to assess the degree of coherence of the Natura 2000 Network in our marine environment with the aim of completing and ensuring the representativeness of the habitats and species of the protected areas.
Likewise, the procedures to update the management plans of the Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) Eastern Strait, El Cachucho and the 24 SACs of the Canary Islands have begun. Along these lines, conservation strategies are also being prepared for endangered species of community interest, including porpoises, ferruginous macaws and Balearic shearwaters.
Integration of funds, actors and policies
The LIFE IP INTEMARES is the first initiative at the national level that combines different European funds for the management of an entire network of protected areas. With a budget of 49.8 million euros, it has the contribution of the LIFE Program of the European Union. The European Social Fund (ESF) and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) will also contribute to its development. The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and the Environment, through the Biodiversity Foundation, has published two calls for subsidies within the framework of the Empleaverde Programme, for the promotion and improvement of employment, entrepreneurship and the environment, and the Pleamar Programme, whose objective is to promote and promote fisheries sustainability. In addition, entities linked to the conservation of marine biodiversity can also apply for grants from the Biodiversity Foundation.
In the next 8 years, 50 actions will be carried out linked to research, monitoring and surveillance, conservation, governance and participation, as well as communication, awareness and environmental education on marine biodiversity.
The project promotes innovative approaches in relation to the marine Natura 2000 Network to become reference areas for a new production model within the framework of a sustainable and low-carbon economy, involving socio-economic sectors and sea users in a participatory management of these spaces.
