The Biodiversity Foundation, a public foundation of the Government of Spain, under the Ministry of the Environment, Rural and Marine Affairs, has had an active participation in the II Ibero-American Meeting of Biodiversity Directors, which closed yesterday in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia.

Within the framework of this meeting, in which representatives of the Spanish Government and 14 Latin American countries have participated, the director of the International Department, Sonia Castañeda, has highlighted the activity carried out by the Biodiversity Foundation for the preservation of the Spanish natural heritage, in the field of sustainable rural development and international development cooperation.

The Ibero-American Network of General Directors of Natural Heritage and Biodiversity has become a forum for the exchange of information and experiences, training, design and implementation of common policies, similar to the networks created for water, waste, climate change and between meteorological agencies.

The main mission of the Network is to promote the fulfillment of the goal of the United Nations and the Convention on Biological Diversity to halt the loss of biodiversity by 2010. At the same time, it promotes compliance with other multilateral conventions and United Nations bodies, for the sustainable use of natural wealth and to advance towards the recognition of the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits derived from the use of genetic resources.