The activity provides municipalities with the keys to submit their candidacies to the “Capital of Biodiversity” contest and provides local managers with the necessary tools to launch or intensify their efforts for the protection of the environment.

The director of the International Department of the Biodiversity Foundation, Sonia Castañeda, inaugurated on Friday, February 11, in Cordoba, the workshop “Tools for the integration of biodiversity in municipal policies”, within the framework of the second edition in Spain of the “Capital of Biodversity” Contest.

The day culminated with a visit to the Asomadilla Park, for whose construction the City Council of Cordoba received the special mention “Environmental Equality” of the 2010 edition of the contest.

The one in Cordoba has been the first of four workshops planned, between February and March, with the aim of facilitating the task of presenting candidacies to the 2011 edition of the “Capital of Biodiversity” contest, whose registration period is open until May 31, and with the use of land as a priority theme.

In this sense, the activity provides local managers with the necessary tools to launch or intensify their efforts for the protection of biodiversity. More than 35 people linked to the municipal level participate in the meeting in Cordoba.

Designed specifically for local authorities, mayors, department directors, technicians and experts with direct responsibility for decision-making, as well as staff belonging to municipalities interested in biodiversity-related issues, the workshop agenda addresses the integration of biodiversity protection into municipal policies; the design of measures for the conservation and protection of biodiversity; communication techniques for carrying out awareness-raising campaigns and financing instruments for local biodiversity protection initiatives. In addition, some winners of the 2010 competition will present their projects for the conservation of biodiversity.

The schedule for the remaining workshops is as follows: March 1, in Donostia-San Sebastián and March 24 and 25, in Puebla de Sanabria.

In the workshops, detailed information is provided on the characteristics and requirements of participation in the contest, attending in a personalized way to those who are interested in participating. Pre-registration for the next meetings is done through the www.capitaldelabiodiversidad.es website or by calling 91 121 09 26.

The main objective of the “Capital of Biodiversity” contest is to increase the protection of nature in Spanish municipalities, promoting initiatives that municipalities direct to the conservation of biodiversity.

HOW TO ENTER THE CONTEST

It is necessary to fill out a questionnaire with 36 questions related to the application of policies and measures for the protection of biodiversity in the municipality, the projects that the city council has carried out in this area and the indicators that measure the biodiversity of the municipality. The questionnaires will be valued out of a total of 100 points.

To present their candidacy, the municipalities that aspire to be “Capital of Biodiversity” have four categories, established according to their population figures. Thus, those with less than 5,000 inhabitants will be able to apply in category A; those with between 5,001 and 30,000 inhabitants, in category B; those with a population between 30,001 and 200,000 inhabitants, in category C, and municipalities with more than 200,000 inhabitants, in category D.

For each of them, three winners will be selected, which will add up to a total of twelve winners, of which only one will achieve the recognition of “Capital of Biodiversity”. In addition, two special mentions will be given to highlight those communication projects related to the protection of biological diversity and projects for the restoration of degraded areas.

The winning municipality will participate, together with the award-winning municipalities in Germany, France, Slovakia and Hungary, in a meeting in Brussels. During this event, they will have the opportunity to present their local strategies and actions to an international audience made up of representatives of municipalities, experts, politicians and the media.

Both the rules of the contest and the questionnaire can be downloaded here.

The Biodiversity Foundation provides technical help to complete this questionnaire: from March to May, the “Write your candidacy to be Capital of Biodiversity” Weeks will take place in Madrid, Seville and Gandía, from March 14 to 18; from 21 to 25 March and from 4 to 8 April (those interested can request an appointment at 91 121 09 26).

The deadline for submitting the documentation is May 31, 2011, and must be sent to the Biodiversity Foundation, through the email address capitaldelabiodiversidad@fundacion-biodiversidad.es.