The Secretary of State for Rural Affairs and Water and President of the Biodiversity Foundation, Josep Puxeu, received this morning in Budapest the 2009 Sultan Qaboos Award for Environmental Protection from UNESCO awarded to the Autonomous Agency for National Parks (OAPN).
The Secretary of State for Rural Affairs and Water and President of the Biodiversity Foundation, Josep Puxeu, received this morning in Budapest the 2009 Sultan Qaboos Award for Environmental Protection from UNESCO awarded to the Autonomous Agency for National Parks (OAPN).
Josep Puxeu, also president of the OAPN, and who attended the event accompanied by the director of this Organization, José Jiménez, collected the award from the director general of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura.
The award recognizes the substantial achievements of National Parks in the coordination of the Spanish Network of National Parks and the development of UNESCO’s MaB (Man and Biosphere) Programme in Spain, as well as its international cooperation programme to improve technical and scientific knowledge and improve resource management for sustainable development.
The prize, which is sponsored by Sultan Qaboos Bin Said of Oman, has been promoted by the Bureau of the International Coordinating Council of UNESCO’s MaB Programme.
The jury highlighted the effort that the OAPN has been making in the conservation of the country’s natural heritage through its work to save endangered species and their habitats, the elimination of exotic species, the restoration of degraded areas, the monitoring of water and air quality, as well as for its support for environmental education and awareness and training. among many other initiatives.
It also recognizes the leadership of the OAPN in promoting the exchange of experiences on the management of protected areas, the development of research projects, the training of park managers and the transfer of technology and resources to support conservation, management and sustainable development.
The OAPN’s strong commitment to the development of the MaB Programme and its contribution to the biosphere reserve management model and to increasing the visibility of the MaB Programme in Spain have been other achievements worthy of this international recognition.
Donation of the Prize to Guinea Bissau
The Government of Spain has decided to donate the prize money, which amounts to 30,000 dollars (approximately 20,000 euros) to the International Cooperation Program of Biosphere Schools that is being developed in the Orango National Park and Biosphere Reserve, in the Bidjagos archipelago, in Guinea Bissau.
Sultan Qaboos Award
Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al Said of Oman promotes this prestigious international award, which has been held biannually since 1989, with the aim of recognizing the most outstanding contributions of individuals, groups of individuals, institutions and organizations in the management or preservation of the environment, in line with the policies, goals and objectives of the United Nations Organization for the Equation, Science and Culture (UNESCO).
Also in relation to UNESCO’s programmes in the field of education on the environment and natural resources, research and training and the creation of environmental awareness through the preparation of information materials and environmental activities aimed at the creation and management of protected areas such as biosphere reserves and natural world heritage sites.
Among the winners over the years are, among others, the Institute for the Conservation of Biodiversity of Ethiopia (2007); the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority of Australia (2005) and the Ecology Centre of Venezuela (2003).
