The director of the Biodiversity Foundation, a public foundation of the Government of Spain, under the Ministry of the Environment, Rural and Marine Affairs, Ana Leiva, has signed three collaboration agreements today in Seville, with the president of the National Association of Segureño Sheep Breeders (ANCOS), José Antonio Puntas; with the manager and vice-president of the Protected Natural Areas of Andalusia Foundation (ANDANATURA), Clifford Wait and Rocío Espinosa; and with the president of the Gondwana Foundation, Roberto García, for a total amount of 1,366,001 euros. This investment will be used to develop three projects that promote employment and good environmental practices mainly in Andalusia, and also in Castilla-La Mancha and Murcia.

The Biodiversity Foundation is the managing body of the European Social Fund (F.S.E.) and in 2008 it allocated 14.8 million euros to finance 32 projects aimed at improving employment and the environment, through the Empleaverde Programme. Three of these initiatives are those that will be developed by Andalusian entities.

Through the empleaverde Programme, the Foundation manages the funds allocated to it by the Adaptability and Employment Operational Programme of the European Social Fund (F.S.E.) for the period 2007-2013.

Promotion of sustainability in Andalusian protected natural areas

These three initiatives aim to promote sustainable economic activities that respect the environment in the Andalusian business sector, in the production process of Segureño lamb as well as in the food sector of Andalusia.

The initiative proposed by the National Association of Segureño Sheep Breeders (ANCOS) aims to contribute to the revitalization and modernization of Segureño lamb production, laying the foundations for the sustainability of its production, minimizing the environmental impact throughout the production process, and choosing as the main vehicle to achieve the objectives the training of the people involved in the process. Likewise, the implementation of the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) “Cordero de las Sierra de Segura and La Sagra” is proposed.

The objective of the project of the Andalusian Protected Natural Areas Foundation (ANDANATURA) is to encourage the business sector of Andalusia and, especially, of the Andalusian protected areas, to contribute to the conservation of the environment and biodiversity, training and raising awareness in environmental and sustainability matters, and promoting sustainable economic activities. The aim is to promote business competitiveness and, with it, the improvement and stability of employment; and to promote the sustainability of economic activities through modernization, innovation and differentiation.

In addition, the project will promote the development of the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Andalusia and will promote and improve employment in sectors such as fishing and coastal tourism, through the incorporation of complementary activities.

Finally, the Gondwana Foundation project is aimed at workers belonging to companies (SMEs and micro-SMEs) that are part of food systems in Andalusia. Its objective is to influence the global improvement of the Andalusian food system using organic food as a reference and example of sustainability, addressing everything from production to consumption aspects. In addition, it aims to raise awareness among workers in school kitchens and school canteen catering companies about the effects of organic food on health and the environment, as well as to promote organic farms as a contribution to climate change mitigation.