The vice-president of the Biodiversity Foundation, a public foundation of the Government of Spain, under the Ministry of the Environment, Rural and Marine Affairs, and Secretary General of the Sea, Juan Carlos Martín Fragueiro, accompanied by the director of the Biodiversity Foundation, Ana Leiva, opened the Inaugural Seminar of the LIFE+ INDEMARES Project “Inventory and designation of the Natura 2000 Network in Marine Areas of the Spanish State”.

This seminar begins coinciding with World Oceans Day, which is celebrated this year for the first time officially today, following its recent declaration by the United Nations.

The LIFE+ INDEMARES project aims to contribute to the protection and sustainable use of biodiversity in Spanish seas by identifying areas of value for the Natura 2000 Network. The Seminar that takes place at the headquarters of the Ministry of the Environment, Rural and Marine Affairs in the Plaza de San Juan de la Cruz, in Madrid, proposes an approach to the framework, objectives and actions of this project in which Spanish scientists, technicians and managers will work over the next five years.

Coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation, LIFE+ INDEMARES has a participatory approach and integrates the work of leading institutions in the field of management, research and conservation of the marine environment: the Ministry of the Environment, Rural Affairs and Marine Environment (through the General Secretariat of the Sea), the Spanish Institute of Oceanography, the Spanish National Research Council, ALNITAK, the Coordinator for the Study of Marine Mammals, OCEANA, the Society for the Study of Cetaceans in the Canary Islands, SEO/BirdLife and WWF Spain.

“At the Biodiversity Foundation, our contribution involves unconditional support for the generation of scientific knowledge about our seas, because we know that knowledge is the necessary tool for policy-making,” said Ana Leiva.

The actions planned within the framework of the project will be carried out between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2013. It has a budget of 15.4 million euros, 50% co-financed by the European Commission. The Biodiversity Foundation allocates 2,636,811 euros to it and the rest is financed by the other partners.

The LIFE+ financial instrument contributes to the development, implementation and updating of EU environment and nature conservation policy and legislation. It also seeks to integrate the environment into other Community policies and to achieve sustainable development in the European Union.

Given Spain’s very large contribution to the biodiversity of the European Union, with approximately 50% of it, our country is one of the largest recipients of these funds.

It should be noted that the LIFE+ Programme has made it exceptionally possible to finance the scientific studies of the INDEMARES project in order to comply with Spain’s commitment to EU policies and the obligation to designate areas of the Marine Natura 2000 Network.