The director of the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, Sonia Castañeda, participated today in the celebrations of the European Day of the Natura 2000 Network , which is commemorated on May 21. Castañeda has visited, together with those responsible for SEO/Birdlife and the “LIFE+ Activate your Authentic Wealth” Project, the Sierra del Hoyo Beekeeping Museum in the Madrid town of Hoyo de Manzanares.

During the visit, the director of the Biodiversity Foundation highlighted the effort that the Ministry has made during this legislature to preserve the biodiversity of our country through the expansion of the Natura 2000 Network in Spain and the adoption of measures for its conservation. Through the Biodiversity Foundation, it has invested more than 2.1 million euros to support projects for the conservation of species and habitats in the Natura 2000 Network, which includes 27% of the total land area of our country (13.7 million hectares), in addition to 8 million marine hectares. The Natura 2000 Network in Spain it includes a total of 1,466 spaces declared as Sites of Community Importance (SCI) and 643 as Special Protection Areas for Birds (SPAs).

Since December 2011, the Biodiversity Foundation has awarded grants for the implementation of 38 projects in the Natura 2000 Network. In addition, she has been responsible for coordinating projects such as the LIFE+ MAP Natura 2000, which has made it possible to identify the possibilities of financing the Natura 2000 Network in Spain, or the LIFE+ INDEMARES project, thanks to which the Spanish marine area included in the Natura 2000 Network has increased by 73,000 km2, ensuring that more than 8% of our seas are protected. The actions of the INDEMARES project have resulted in the inclusion of 49 new marine areas in the Natura 2000 Network, 39 of which correspond to SPAs and the remaining 10 to SCIs.

The enhancement of the Natura 2000 Network for sustainable nature tourism activities is, on the other hand, the axis of the Sectoral Plan for Nature Tourism and Biodiversity 2014-2020, launched by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, together with the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism, with which it is intended to give visibility to the Natura 2000 Network and promote the tourism sector as a source of income and of green employment. In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment collaborates with SEO/Birdlife in the dissemination of the positive values of the Natura 2000 Network, supporting project actions LIFE Natura 2000. Connecting people with biodiversity , through a total contribution of 200,000 euros.