Land stewardship is being integrated into the policies developed by local entities for the conservation and restoration of the nature. This has been shown by various municipalities that have participated in the virtual conference Opportunities for land stewardship for local entities. This meeting, which brought together more than a hundred attendees, was organised by the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) and the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO).
The director of the Biodiversity Foundation, Félix Romero, stressed at the opening table the importance of “local administrations as key actors to contribute to the development of participatory conservation actions” as they are “the administrations closest to the territory and to the citizens”, and stressed that “the figure of land stewardship can be essential to unite this social fabric in favour of the conservation and restoration of the nature”.
For her part, the general director of the FEMP, Cristina Montalvá, underlined the renewal of the commitment to collaborate over the coming years to achieve a greater application of this territorial management instrument among Spanish municipalities.
EXPERIENCES IN THE TERRITORY
During the day, it was highlighted that local entities can participate in land stewardship agreements as land owners or as stewardship entities. According to data from the VII Inventory of land stewardship agreements prepared by the Biodiversity Foundation, 466 agreements have been signed in the public heritage domain. Likewise, 23 municipalities have signed a total of 151 agreements in more than 2,000 hectares as custodial entities.
Likewise, it has been briefly explained what land stewardship is, what its situation is in Spain and how it can be integrated into the policies developed by local entities for the conservation and restoration of nature. The experience of four local entities that promote this tool in their territorial areas.
Specifically, the campaign of the City Council of Hostalric, in Girona, to allocate 0.5% of the IBI to nature conservation has been explained. Also the land stewardship agreements for the improvement of the conservation status of the flora, fauna and habitats of protected areas in the province of Lugo; land stewardship projects in the Serra de Tramuntana region; as well as the experience of land stewardship for the conservation and increase of biodiversity in urban and peri-urban green areas of the city of Santander.
THE LIFE CUSTODIA PROJECT
This conference has been developed within the framework of the actions that the FEMP and the Biodiversity Foundation develop through the Land Stewardship Platform and the LIFE CUSTODIA project, coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation with the aim of advancing in the consolidation of land stewardship in Spain through social innovation and the promotion of public policies. the mobilization of financing and the internationalization of land stewardship as a tool for nature conservation.
The main objective of the LIFE CUSTODIA project is to promote land stewardship as a tool for the conservation and restoration of nature, through innovation and collaboration between administrations, land owners, companies, NGOs and other entities. Participating as partners: Eurosite, the Forum of Networks and Entities of Land Stewardship (FRECT), the Global Nature Foundation (FGN), the Fernando González Bernáldez/ Europarc-Spain Foundation (FUNGOBE), SEO/BirdLife, the Network for the Conservation of Nature (XCN). It has the financial contribution of the LIFE Program of the European Union.
Photo: Consorcio Serra de Tramuntana Patrimoni
