Today we have received, from the hands of the acting Minister of Public Works, José Luís Ábalos, the first prize of the Society of Maritime Rescue and Safety for the “Best contribution to SDG 14 regarding the conservation of our seas” for our LIFE INTEMARES project, of which the General Directorate of Sustainability of the Coast and the Sea of MITECO is also a partner. The director of the project and deputy director of the Biodiversity Foundation, Ignacio Torres, was in charge of collecting the award, accompanied by the Deputy Director General for the Protection of the Sea, Itziar Martín.
In its contribution to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Salvamento Marítimo, an agency attached to the Ministry of Public Works, has focused its awards in this edition on SDG 14, Life below water, for the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans. This award recognises individuals, associations or companies that have developed initiatives aimed at raising awareness of the need to preserve marine ecosystems and promote actions to combat pollution in the seas.
The awards have been established in three categories, each defined by a specific field. LIFE INTEMARES has been awarded in category 1 for its commitment, sensitivity and dedication to the protection of marine life and conservation. The jury also valued the innovation and scope of the project. “Spain’s great commitment to the conservation of marine biodiversity”, said Ignacio Torres.
The LIFE INTEMARES project aims to achieve effective management of the marine areas of the Natura 2000 Network, the largest network of protected areas in the world. To this end, this management must be based on two basic pillars: the active participation of socio-economic sectors and sea users and research as a basic tool for decision-making. To achieve this goal, it is carrying out a broad programme of actions aimed at the conservation of species and habitats, research, surveillance and monitoring, governance and training, as well as communication, awareness and marine environmental education.
Throughout these first three years of the project, significant progress has been made towards achieving the objective of effectively managing almost 300 marine protected areas. The declaration of new marine protected areas is one of the lines of action of LIFE INTEMARES, which has set itself the goal of declaring 9 new areas, a commitment that was set out at the last Our Ocean 2019 summit, thus increasing the 12% of marine protected area that Spain already has. To this end, 9 oceanographic campaigns have been carried out to find out the ecological values of these areas.
Do you want to know more about LIFE INTEMARES?
The LIFE IP INTEMARES project aims to achieve a network of marine areas of the Natura 2000 Network managed in an effective and integrated way, with the active participation of the sectors involved and research as basic tools for decision-making. The Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition coordinates the project. The General Directorate of Sustainability of the Coast and the Sea of the same ministry, the Spanish Institute of Oceanography, the Spanish Fisheries Confederation, SEO/BirdLife and WWF-Spain participate as partners. It has the financial contribution of the European Union’s LIFE programme, among other sources of funding.
You can follow the latest news about the project through their www.intemares.es website or by following their Twitter profile @Lifeintemares
