On March 3 of each year we celebrate World Wildlife Day, proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly to highlight the importance of wild flora and fauna and the benefits they bring to the planet and to human beings. In addition, this date commemorates the anniversary of the approval in 1973 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), a global cooperation treaty that seeks to regulate international trade in wild plants and animals in a way that does not pose a threat to their survival. Currently, this agreement covers the protection of some 5,950 species of animals and 32,800 species of plants. This year, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the signing of CITES, we want to recognize the importance of this and other international agreements that contribute to the protection of nature. Under the slogan “Alliances in favor of wildlife conservation” it is intended to highlight the collaboration of the different social actors, including the role of conservation associations and groups and any type of mobilization, initiative and conservation effort in general that seeks to raise awareness about the situation of endangered species and the preservation of the environment. According to data from the United Nations, biodiversity has decreased significantly in recent years and its habitats continue to be degraded, mainly due to factors such as changes in land and sea use, overexploitation of natural resources, the effects of climate change and pollution. Currently, some 30,000 species of flora and fauna are vulnerable and more than 8,400 are critically endangered, and the average number of native species in large ecosystems has declined by about 20% since the beginning of the twentieth century.

According to the findings of the latest assessment by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), overexploitation is one of the main threats to the survival of many terrestrial and aquatic wildlife. The report highlights that, globally, the survival of nearly 12% of wild tree species is at risk due to unsustainable logging, 34% of wild marine fish populations are overexploited, and unsustainable hunting has been identified as a threat to 1,341 species of wild mammals and as a cause that negatively impacts bird species. In addition, the publication recognizes international trade as an important and growing cause of the introduction of invasive alien species, which poses another risk to the subsistence of native species. In this context, the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) contributes to the protection and improvement of the conservation status of wildlife. Thus, through the 2021 call for grants for projects to support rescue centres for depositories of seized live specimens included in the CITES convention, within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (RTRP), we promote 12 initiatives that contribute to the conservation of endangered species of wild fauna and flora due to their illegal trade, for which we have launched grants worth €3.4 million. All the projects coincide in their objective of improving the assistance, care and recovery of intercepted specimens from illegal trade, but they also emphasize the improvement of the training and education of the personnel involved in their handling and in environmental education, awareness and sensitization activities to raise awareness in society about the problems posed by the illegal trafficking of species. for their survival and the conservation of habitats.