The Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), has organized the 13th edition of #Biodirectos, coinciding with the celebration of International Earth Day, in which the National Strategy for Green Infrastructure and Ecological Connectivity and Restoration has been addressed.

The general director of Biodiversity, Forests and Desertification of MITECO, María Jesús Rodríguez de Sancho, inaugurated the meeting, which was also attended by Elena Pita, director of the Biodiversity Foundation; Juan Pérez Lorenzo, representative of the Directorate-General for the Environment of the European Commission; Jesús Moreno Pérez, general director of Sustainability of the Junta de Extremadura; Carles Ruiz Novella, president of the Network of Local Governments + Biodiversity of the FEMP and mayor of Viladecans; Juan Carlos del Olmo, Secretary General of WWF Spain and Fernando Valladares, CSIC scientist and coordinator of the document of Scientific-Technical Bases for the IVCRE Strategy.

The National Strategy for Green Infrastructure and Ecological Connectivity and Restoration is a strategic planning document that regulates the implementation and development of green infrastructure in Spain and is a fundamental tool for identifying, conserving and recovering damaged ecosystems throughout Spain and connecting them with each other. In addition, it is presented as a key roadmap for green recovery in biodiversity issues, addressing the deterioration of ecosystems and the services they provide us, as well as their fragmentation.

The Strategy is of great importance within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (RTRP), as it includes among its reforms aspects such as ecosystem restoration and green infrastructure, key in the development of this plan. It establishes the territorial and sectoral planning of all public administrations for their integration at all levels. In this regard, the Director General indicated that the approval of the regional green infrastructure strategies is expected from July 2024, a date that will allow “a glimpse of the path for their construction at its different scales, state, regional and local, and also integrated into the European green infrastructure”.

Elena Pita, director of the Biodiversity Foundation of MITECO, has highlighted the need to strengthen the role of nature. “The Strategy shows us the importance of betting on nature-based solutions that serve us, among other aspects, to face the impacts of climate change and that have proven to be cost-effective, being more profitable than other solutions.”

The National Strategy for Green Infrastructure and Ecological Connectivity and Restoration, approved last summer, aims to implement actions, in the short, medium and long term, to be carried out by the different Administrations, with the aim of consolidating a coherent network of fully connected natural and semi-natural areas in Spain by 2050.

This network ensures the good condition of ecosystems and, with it, the supply of the services they provide us, as well as the ecological connectivity necessary to prevent the genetic isolation of species of fauna and flora, facilitate migrations and avoid the fragmentation of ecosystems.

In addition, the infrastructure stands out for its multifunctional nature. These functions can be environmental (biodiversity conservation, restoration, or ecological connectivity); social (improvement of the rural environment and promotion of its opportunities); economic (job creation, reduction of costs for mitigating the impacts of climate change or services provided by ecosystems); or policies (regional or local development, the fight against climate change, disaster risk management, water, agriculture or forestry), among others.