The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and the Environment today held the first Scientific Committee of the LIFE IP INTEMARES project, the largest marine environment conservation project in Spain, coordinated by the Ministry through the Biodiversity Foundation, for the effective management of an entire network of marine protected areas.
The Ministry’s Director General of Coastal and Sea Sustainability, Raquel Orts, inaugurated this committee, which was attended by representatives of the General Secretariat for Fisheries, as well as leading scientists and experts from more than twenty research centres, universities, conservation organisations, associations and companies linked to the marine environment.
Orts stressed that the Ministry is firmly committed to scientific research, technological development and innovation to advance in improving knowledge of the marine environment. “In recent years we have intensified marine research for the protection of spaces and species and the project integrated LIFE INTEMARES is, without a doubt, an example of this”, he said during his speech.
The Director General of Sustainability of the Coast and the Sea added that this initiative “is a great opportunity to continue and complete the work and scientific advances carried out within the framework of the LIFE+ INDEMARES project”, which was also coordinated by the Ministry, and thanks to which we have managed to increase the marine protected area in Spain from 1 to 8%.
Specifically, thanks to LIFE+ INDEMARES, more than 50 new species were discovered for science and 49 spaces were declared for the Natura Marina Network -39 Special Protection Areas for Birds (SPAs) and 10 Sites of Community Importance (SCI) were proposed-, among other milestones.
KNOWLEDGE ENHANCEMENT
In the field of research and conservation, the LIFE IP INTEMARES has the challenge, in the next eight years, of improving the knowledge of the Natura 2000 Network in the marine environment, its species and habitats in order to manage these spaces in an effective and participatory way.
To this end, oceanographic campaigns will be carried out in marine areas not studied in order to improve the connectivity and representativeness of the Natura 2000 Network. It is also They will study in a complementary way those areas already declared and in which it is essential to have more information to draw up coherent management plans. In addition, the creation of 9 new spaces will be proposed.
Innovation is one of the main axes of the project and, in this line, the use of new observation, data analysis and information management technologies will be explored to contribute to an efficient monitoring and surveillance of the Natura 2000 Network in the marine environment.
The society will also participate in improving knowledge of the marine environment. With the citizen science programme, a scientific research network will be created made up of citizens, scientists and professionals to provide and validate data referring to this Natura 2000 Network of habitats, species and impacts.
These actions have been addressed in this first meeting of the Scientific Committee, an advisory and consultative body that aims to provide scientific, environmental and technical criteria for decision-making on the actions of the project.
INTEGRATION, PARTICIPATION AND INNOVATION
The LIFE IP INTEMARES project aims to achieve a consolidated network of marine areas of the Natura 2000 Network, managed effectively, with the active participation of the sectors involved and with research as basic tools for decision-making. It is coordinated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and the Environment. through the Biodiversity Foundation, and also acts as a partner through the General Directorate of Sustainability of the Coast and the Sea.
The Spanish Institute of Oceanography, WWF-Spain, SEO/BirdLife and the Spanish Fisheries Confederation participate as partners. In addition, it receives the support and collaboration of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Guilds and more than 30 organizations. It has the financial contribution of the European Union’s LIFE Programme, as well as the European Social Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, among other sources of funding.
Over the next eight years, an extensive programme of actions will be carried out linked to research, monitoring and surveillance, conservation, governance and training, as well as communication, awareness and environmental education on marine and coastal biodiversity and the Natura 2000 Network. With this initiative, Spain will be able to comply with the international commitment to effectively and sustainably protect more than 10% of its marine area.
