The Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and the Environment, Isabel García Tejerina, and President of the Board of Trustees of the Biodiversity Foundation, received today from Her Majesty Queen Letizia, the Gold Medal of the Red Cross, awarded for our career in our twentieth anniversary. The Spanish Red Cross has highlighted our development of activities of general interest in the field of conservation, study and sustainable use of biodiversity.
Her Majesty, accompanied by the minister, was received at the Palacio de Congresos y Exposiciones de Galicia, in Santiago de Compostela, by the president of the Xunta de Galicia, Alberto Núñez Feijoo; by the president of the Parliament of Galicia, Miguel Santalices; by the Government delegate in the autonomous community, Santiago Villanueva; by the mayor of Santiago de Compostela, Martiño Noriega; and by the president of the Spanish Red Cross, Javier Senent.
More than 150 million euros to conserve biodiversity
We are celebrating our 20th anniversary and we are currently the only public foundation in Spain dedicated to the conservation of biodiversity. We are the main donor to biodiversity projects in our country and since our creation in 1998 we have supported nearly 2,000 projects and more than 1,000 entities with more than 150 million euros for conservation projects.
We channel aid and funds and execute large conservation projects co-financed by European funds. During these 20 years we have participated in or coordinated 11 European projects that have channelled 77 million euros for the conservation of biodiversity in Spain. Currently, we coordinate the largest marine conservation project in Europe, LIFE Infrastructure, which aims to contribute to the fulfillment of international commitments to protect more than 10% of our marine area.
200 species have improved their conservation status
In these 20 years, we have worked with about 200 species. Thanks to this work, the conservation status of such emblematic species in Spain as the Iberian lynx, the brown bear, the imperial eagle, the loggerhead turtle or the posidonia has been improved. We have also supported the recovery, reintroduction or captive reproduction of more than 15 species such as the black vulture, the bearded vulture, the red kite, the Bonelli’s eagle or the European mink.
In relation to the conservation of ecosystems, we have worked on the declaration, management, conservation and/or financing of the Natura 2000 Network, National Parks and Biosphere Reserves as well as other regional protection figures.
Promoting green jobs and sustainable fisheries management
We promote green employment and entrepreneurship in Spain through the Empleaverde Programme, co-financed by the European Social Fund. Endowed with 68 million euros , it aims to support more than 300 projects that promote a more sustainable, circular and low-emission economy. From 2017 to 2023, it is expected to have contributed to the creation of 4,800 jobs and the training of 24,000 people, in addition to supporting 3,000 companies. It also has the largest community in the green entrepreneurship ecosystem in Spain, the Emprendeverde Network, with 8,700 members.
In terms of fisheries, we work on the integration of fisheries management policies and biodiversity conservation within the framework of the Pleamar Programme, co-financed with the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund. It has a budget of 30 million euros and aims to support, until 2023, more than 200 projects that contribute to the protection and recovery of marine biodiversity, the practice of more sustainable fishing and aquaculture activities and the reinforcement of the management of these activities in marine protected areas.
