Today, May 9, is Europe Day, which commemorates the anniversary of the signing of the Schuman Declaration (1950), the first major political cooperation agreement between the nations of the continent and which gave rise to the current European Union. The Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), in its work to promote the conservation and restoration of ecosystems, promote the sustainable use of natural resources and fight against the causes of biodiversity loss, promotes several projects supported by EU funds. Thus, through the Next Generation EU funds, up to ten calls for aid have been launched since 2021 within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (RTRP) to support transformative and innovative projects, based on science and the solutions provided by nature, and which promote the ecological transition and green recovery.

The main objectives of these initiatives are related to the renaturalization of cities; research on biodiversity management; the promotion of the bioeconomy; the reinforcement of stranding and rescue networks for marine species; support to CITES centres; the restoration of river ecosystems in urban environments and the promotion of the company’s circular economy . Likewise, a new call for grants for the promotion of the forest bioeconomy is currently open, aimed at encouraging the development of transformative projects that contribute to the promotion of the bioeconomy, the ecological transition, the demographic challenge and capacity building. Likewise, the Biodiversity Foundation works on different projects within the framework of the LIFE Programme, the only financial instrument of the European Union specifically dedicated to environmental protection and climate action.

Among them, it coordinates LIFE INTEMARES, which aims to achieve effective management of the marine areas of the Natura 2000 Network. It also coordinates the LIFE Marbled Teal project, whose main objective is to improve the conservation status of more than 3,000 hectares of wetlands to reverse the risk of extinction of the marbled teal, achieving a minimum of 125 breeding pairs of this species in our country, where it is in a critical situation. In the same way, the Biodiversity Foundation is also a partner in three other LIFE projects, including LIFE Ecorest, which aims to restore nearly 30,000 hectares of deep marine habitats in an area of high ecological value along the coast of Girona and Barcelona. She also participates as a partner in the LIFE Bears with a Future project, which seeks to improve the adaptation of the Cantabrian brown bear to climate change in the medium and long term.

It is also working on the LIFE A-MAR NATURA 2000 project, which aims to reduce anthropogenic impacts and pressures on the marine areas of the Natura 2000 Network in the Mediterranean, improving awareness and knowledge of these areas. In addition, we participate as partners in two other initiatives focused on the conservation and restoration of marine ecosystems such as the CetAMBICion project, which has the main objective of contributing to reducing cetacean bycatch in the Bay of Biscay and the Iberian coast. On the other hand, the MSP-OR project is aimed at supporting the implementation of the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive in its overseas territories. The Biodiversity Foundation also manages the European Union’s Structural Funds with a clear orientation towards the ecological transition and green recovery, which allow the continuity of different programmes and calls, consolidating the current lines of work.

Thus, with the impetus of the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (FEMPA), the Pleamar Programme is carried out, whose objective is to support the fisheries and aquaculture sector in its commitment to sustainability and its commitment to the protection and conservation of biodiversity and natural heritage. Likewise, the Empleaverde+ Programme, co-financed by the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), focuses its activity on training for the green transition, directing its actions to unemployed people, workers and entrepreneurs in order to continue promoting the improvement of skills associated with the ecological transition and new sources of green employment, as well as protecting the environment and promoting sustainability. For its part, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the aim is to give continuity to the financing of transformative and innovative projects in the lines of biodiversity and science, renaturation and resilience of cities and conservation and restoration of terrestrial and marine biodiversity.