The Biodiversity Foundation is celebrating its 20th anniversary by highlighting the wealth and natural capital of Spain, the country with the greatest biodiversity in the European Union. In an event held at its new headquarters in Madrid, built following sustainability and energy efficiency criteria, and chaired by the president of the Biodiversity Foundation and Minister for Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, conservation success stories over the last 20 years were highlighted, such as the Iberian imperial eagle and the Iberian lynx.
During the celebration, Ribera expressed “the Ministry’s willingness to place nature in its rightful place, as a key pillar of our development and well-being”. For her part, the director of the Biodiversity Foundation, Sonia Castañeda, thanked the work of the entities that have developed the almost 2,000 projects carried out over the years, since “together we have multiplied our reach”, she stressed.
Teresa Ribera has advanced our country’s position at the next Conference of the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 14), which will be held in Sharm El-Sheikh (Egypt) from 17 to 29 November, and will follow the path marked by the 2050 vision of the Aichi targets agreed by the aforementioned convention, as well as the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“The post-2020 framework needs to be transparent and inclusive, with appropriate, ambitious, measurable, time-bound targets that build on and reinforce the current Aichi targets,” Ribera said.
This COP will also emphasise the importance of integrating biodiversity into certain sectors, taking into account the context of the 2030 Agenda. In this regard, Spain shares with the rest of the EU partners that the integration of biodiversity conservation issues into sectoral policies is essential to halt its loss and achieve sustainable growth and development.
MORE THAN 300 MILLION EUROS TO CONSERVE BIODIVERSITY
The Biodiversity Foundation, the only state-owned public foundation dedicated to the conservation of biodiversity, is the main donor to projects in this area in our country and executes projects directly. Since its creation in 1998, it has supported nearly 2,000 projects and more than 1,000 entities, with more than 230 million euros for projects.
The conservation projects it manages directly are co-financed by European funds. During these 20 years he has coordinated or managed 11 European projects that have attracted 77 million euros for the conservation of biodiversity in our country. Currently, he coordinates the largest marine conservation project in Europe, LIFE Intemares, endowed with 50 million euros, and which has already managed to comply with international commitments to protect more than 10% of our marine area, with our country currently accounting for almost 13%.
In these 20 years, the Foundation has worked with nearly 200 species. Thanks to this work, the conservation status of such emblematic species in Spain as the Iberian lynx, the brown bear, the Iberian imperial eagle, the loggerhead turtle or the posidonia oceanica has been improved. It has also supported the recovery, reintroduction or reproduction in captivity 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 addition, thanks to its calls for grants, it has collaborated with NGOs, associations and foundations, the academic sector, universities and research centres, the media, public administrations and companies.
GREEN JOBS AND SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES MANAGEMENT
The Biodiversity Foundation promotes green employment and entrepreneurship in Spain through the Empleaverde Programme, co-financed by the European Social Fund. Endowed with 68 million euros, its objective is to support more than 300 projects on the 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 more than 8,700 members.
In the field of fisheries, it works on the integration of fisheries and aquaculture management policies, and the conservation of biodiversity 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, to the practice of more sustainable fishing and aquaculture activities and to the strengthening of the management of these activities in marine protected areas.
A VENUE THAT IS COMMITTED TO SUSTAINABILITY
Coinciding with its twentieth anniversary, the Biodiversity Foundation has changed its headquarters. It has ceased to be in an office building to settle at street level and integrate into the Madrid neighborhood of Arganzuela. The new headquarters shows the opportunities offered by moving towards sustainable and collaborative workspaces.
A space that highlights a rehabilitation based on the low-carbon and circular economy, the reuse of structures, energy efficiency, renewable energies and the use of innovative materials.
