The Secretary of State for the Environment and Vice-President of the Board of Trustees of the Biodiversity Foundation, Federico Ramos, highlighted the work of the Advisory Council of the Biodiversity Foundation “to continue advancing in the protection of natural heritage”. This was stated at the second meeting of the Advisory Council of the Biodiversity Foundation held today at the headquarters of the institution. Federico Ramos chaired this second meeting of the Foundation’s consultation and support body, which since its creation in July 2013 has had professionals of recognised prestige in the environmental, scientific, business and communication fields.

In the course of this meeting, various issues have been addressed. On the one hand, the progress made since the first meeting held in November 2013 and the actions developed with the contributions and suggestions of the Council were shown.

Secondly, the institution’s communication strategy has been analysed, with special emphasis on the importance of disseminating the importance of biodiversity to society in general and to young people and children in particular.

And finally, the members of the Advisory Council have made contributions to the Biodiversity Foundation’s work plan for 2015, which will be approved by its board of trustees in June.

The Council stressed the importance of the Foundation’s role as an intermediary body for the management of European funds and as an executor of innovative projects co-financed by Europe. Also, its important role as a financier of projects through calls for public aid.

Among the various initiatives promoted, the Advisory Board has highlighted the grants granted to research projects linked to biodiversity, sustainable development and climate change. The Biodiversity Foundation allocated €380,000 in 2013 to projects promoted by universities, which represents an increase of more than 50% in aid compared to the previous year.

At the close of the meeting, the Secretary of State for the Environment thanked the members of the Council for their recommendations and advice, as well as their involvement in the activities carried out in recent months.

“To achieve our objectives, we need your collaboration, which allows us to move forward and overcome new challenges in the preservation of natural heritage and biodiversity, the creation of employment, wealth and well-being for society as a whole,” he stressed.

Professionals of recognized prestige

The Advisory Council is made up of 15 professionals from various sectors, related to their aims and principles of action. The members of the Board participate in their personal capacity, based on their merits and professional career, and do not represent the entity or company in which they work. Its functions are consultation and advice.

Representatives of the field of science and knowledge are Juan Luis Arsuaga, palaeontologist laureate of a Prince of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research; Carlos Duarte, research professor at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Utrecht (Holland) in recognition of the research carried out in the field of marine ecology, Fernando Valladares, PhD in Biological Sciences and research professor at the CSIC, as well as José Luis de Miguel, a physicist whose career is linked to the General Foundation of the CSIC.

From the environmental field, the members of the Advisory Council are Achim Steiner, executive director of the United Nations Environment Program; Jeremy Wates, with a long career at the Aarhus Convention and currently Secretary General of the European Environmental Bureau (EEB); Lynda Mansson, an economist who is active in the European Environment Donor Group and currently Director General of the MAVA Foundation; Víctor Viñuales, sociologist, co-founder and executive director of Ecology and Development (ECODES); and Xavier Pastor, marine biologist, senior vice president and executive director of Oceana in Europe.

Representatives of the business sector are also part of the Advisory Council, such as Valentín Alfaya, Director of Quality and Environment at the Ferrrovial Group and PhD in Biology, dedicated to the construction, infrastructure and services sector; Antonio Abril, Secretary General and Secretary of the Board of Directors and Director of Regulatory Compliance of Inditex; Alicia Torrego, a physicist who directs the organization of the National Congress of the Environment (CONAMA) and Luis Rivera, director of the José Manuel Entrecanales Foundation for innovation in sustainability, which in addition to carrying out a series of social action activities, acts as a business angel in companies oriented to innovation and sustainability.

From the field of communication, Juan Luis Cano, journalist, president of the Gomaespuma Foundation, which works on early childhood education programs for children living in situations of social and family precariousness in Nicaragua and Sri Lanka; and Carmen Bieger, executive director of the Antena 3 Foundation, a lawyer linked to the field of communication in different organizations.