Miguel Arias Cañete, Minister of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, attended the presentation of the Life+ project “Activate your authentic wealth. Red Natura” last Wednesday, January 9, an initiative that aims to disseminate, inform and raise awareness among the population about this nature conservation tool, “the most ambitious nature conservation project in the European Union that incorporates the largest set of protected natural areas in the world and is constituted as a tool with which to maintain the threatened biological diversity in our territory”, as pointed out by Arias Cañete.

“Activate your authentic wealth. Red Natura” is a project promoted by the Spanish Ornithological Society, which was represented by the Executive Director, Asunción Ruiz, as well as the EFE Agency, whose president José Antonio Vera also attended the presentation. Pía Bucella, Director of Nature, Biodiversity and Territorial Use of the European Commission, was also present at the event.

The Minister has supported the development of this new project, which responds to the need to “give greater dissemination to the Network, its importance and possibilities”, since “Spanish society is not yet familiar with the existence of the Natura 2000 Network, nor with its transcendence, scope and significance, as various studies have confirmed”.

Arias Cañete stated during the presentation ceremony that thanks to the Natura 2000 Network, “Spain has protected almost 15 million hectares, more than 27% of the national land area”, which at the European level translates into between 15 and 18% of the protected area of the European Union. In relation to the use of this conservation instrument, Arias Cañete stated that Spain makes “special efforts to complete the marine network; as well as the declaration of Sites of Community Importance (SCI) and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and their conservation measures must be promoted”. Actions that require, in the words of the minister, an improvement in “the financing possibilities that a Network of these dimensions needs, including community co-financing”.

“Activate your authentic wealth. Red Natura” is part of the projects within the Life+ 2011 Call, within the line of Information and Communication. It is an initiative that has a budget of 2.1 million euros, co-financed by the EU and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, as well as the Biodiversity Foundation, Red Eléctrica Española and the Autonomous Communities of Andalusia, Castilla y León, the Basque Country, Navarre, the Balearic Islands, Castilla-La Mancha, Madrid and Cantabria.