- The Commissioner for the Water Cycle and Ecosystem Restoration of MITECO, Francisca Baraza, highlighted the “accompaniment of the agricultural sector carried out by the Government of Spain so that they introduce more sustainable models of production and exploitation”
- Nature-based solutions and successful experiences in the environmental management of slurry and an experience of recovery of native breeds will be presented
The Technical Office of the Mar Menor, coordinated by the Commissioner for the Water Cycle and Ecosystem Restoration of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), as well as the Biodiversity Foundation, under the same ministry, are holding an information day on the call for aid for environmental improvement in intensive livestock farms in the Mar Menor catchment basin and support for extensive livestock in the Campo de Menor. Cartagena.
This conference, contemplated within the measures of the Framework of Priority Actions to Recover the Mar Menor in its Line 6, to support the ecological transition and environmental improvement of productive sectors to mitigate the impact of their activity on the lagoon, is attended by about 50 participants who meet at the headquarters of the UNED in Cartagena.
In it, representatives and members of the livestock sector of the catchment basin can learn the details of the call for aid, endowed with 11.5 million euros to finance proposals to be submitted until January 13, 2026, and get in touch with those responsible for successful experiences of environmental improvements already applied in other territorial areas.
Specifically, according to the Commissioner for the Water Cycle and Ecosystem Restoration of MITECO, Francisca Baraza, “the livestock sector will be able to consider which projects to implement on their farms and how, with the support of these grants and our accompaniment, to implement environmental measures that improve the impact of their activity on the territory. help the recovery of the Mar Menor ecosystem and in turn increase the added value of its production”.
This “accompaniment of the Government of Spain to the productive sectors of the basin that slopes the Mar Menor”, adds Baraza, shows “the firm commitment of the State to the Region of Murcia, to the Framework to Recover the Mar Menor, and to the productive and economic reality of the area”, since, in addition to these grants to livestock, He concludes, we must add the 14.4 million euros that are allocated to the agricultural sector.
For her part, the coordinator of bioeconomy projects of the Biodiversity Foundation, Gemma Rodríguez, highlighted “the importance of this conference to facilitate a space for meeting and exchange and to promote the development of joint projects aimed at the sustainability of this sector that is so important in the area of the Mar Menor watershed”.
During the day, inspiring experiences for environmental improvement were presented, such as the one given by Pilar Bernal, researcher at CEBAS-CSIC, on the evaluation of manure management for environmental protection.
Manuel Naranjo, from the Livestock Cooperative of Hinojos, in Huelva, also participates, which has opted for the recovery of native marsh breeds in the Doñana National Park.
Another experience that will be presented will be that of the Valpurín Project, consisting of the development of Nature-based Solutions for the sustainable treatment of slurry and subsequent valorization of its fractions, which will be carried out by Carmen Hernández, from the Universitat Politècnica de València.
The programme continues with the explanation of the informative aspects of the call and with a networking space where you can find more information about the submission of proposals and contact other entities to promote the creation of groups that allow a project to be launched.
This initiative is included in line 6 of the Framework of Priority Actions to Recover the Mar Menor (MAPMM), endowed with a global budget of 675.05 million euros, where support for the transition of productive sectors is proposed.
In this way, the central government seeks to promote the recovery of the Mar Menor catchment basin, while accompanying and supporting the transition and environmental improvement of specific productive sectors.
The three eligible lines are support for extensive or semi-extensive livestock farming and the promotion of economic diversification in the territory; the promotion of changes in intensive livestock management and practices to reduce the environmental impact on the production and polluting potential of slurry, and improvements in the management and treatment of waste and slurry to reduce its polluting potential.
The projects must have the scientific sector, which will allow guiding and directing actions, as well as generating new knowledge of this important economic activity.
Each selected project may receive a grant of between 300,000 euros and 2 million, with co-financing of up to 90% of the budget, and will last 36 months.
So far, the Biodiversity Foundation has already granted 14.4 million euros to 10 projects demonstrating best practices in the agricultural field, which will contribute to the ecological transition in agriculture and the reduction of impacts at source in the Mar Menor catchment basin.
More information at the following link.
