The director of the Biodiversity Foundation, a public foundation of the Government of Spain, under the Ministry of the Environment, Rural and Marine Affairs, Ana Leiva, inaugurated today within the framework of the IUCN World Conservation Congress the Workshop “Marine Stewardship: Participation of Users and NGOs in the Conservation of Marine Ecosystems and Resources”, organized by the marine stewardship working group of the Territory Stewardship Network (XCT) with the collaboration of the Biodiversity Foundation.

In her speech, Ana Leiva highlighted the foundation’s commitment to the conservation of the marine environment. He also pointed out the importance of promoting the concept of marine stewardship, of encouraging networking of the different agents involved and of achieving a socio-political framework conducive to the development of this conservation model. For this reason, the Biodiversity Foundation is supporting the XCT marine stewardship working group and promotes the Land Stewardship Platform.

For his part, Guillem Mas, coordinator of the marine stewardship working group of the Territory Stewardship Network, explained the application of land stewardship in the marine environment, and the difficulties and consequences that this entails. He also pointed out the situation of marine custody in Spain and in other countries.

Marine stewardship tries to find ways of involving civil society in the planning and management of the sea and is defined as a conservation strategy that tries to generate the responsibility of the competent administrations and users of the marine environment in the conservation of its natural, cultural and landscape values.

The Workshop was attended by international experts such as Hugh Govan, coordinator of the Locally Managed Marine Areas Network of Indonesia; Eleanor Carter, non-executive director of Chumbe Island Coral Park Ltd. in Zanzibar; and Jay Udelhoven, advisor to The Nature Conservancy (USA) for the Global Marine Team.

The Biodiversity Foundation together with the Marine Stewardship Working Group of the Territori Stewardship Network participate in this initiative with the sailboat Far Barceloneta, owned by the El Far Consortium. It will include project presentations by marine stewardship entities, such as the Fundació Mar, environmental education activities, technical meetings and informal meetings with experts in marine conservation.

An exhibition on marine custody will be permanently installed in its vicinity. The sailboat can be visited until October 9 morning and afternoon and will make at least one sailing trip a day around the coast of Barcelona.

Marine stewardship is a new conservation strategy that uses voluntary agreements between the different agents related to the sea to conserve its natural, cultural and landscape values. This work philosophy seeks innovative formulas so that civil society, through conservation entities, users and local entities can participate in marine conservation.

Presentation of the publication “Guidelines on Protected Area Management Categories”

At the same time, and also within the framework of the IUCN World Conservation Congress, the book “Guidelines on Protected Area Management Categories” has been presented, which has been published by the IUCN, with the collaboration of the Biodiversity Foundation, the World Commission on Protected Areas and the Ministry of the Environment of the Junta de Andalucía.

The IUCN system of protected area categories is considered, together with the IUCN Red List, one of the main leadership products of the Union and different Spanish institutions have participated in its review.