The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, through the Biodiversity Foundation, has brought together scientists of recognised prestige in the field of limnology – ecology of continental aquatic ecosystems – to analyse the state of conservation of Lake Sanabria in Zamora and study the various proposals to preserve its natural resources. The conference “Lake Sanabria: the importance of conserving our natural resources” held at the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid was chaired by the Secretary of State for the Environment, Federico Ramos, and was attended by the Director General of Water, Liana Ardiles; the Director of the Biodiversity Foundation, Sonia Castañeda; the President of the Duero Hydrographic Confederation, José Valín, and the Vice President of Organization and Institutional Relations of the CSIC, José Ramón Urquijo.

The Secretary of State for the Environment, Federico Ramos, stressed the need to “obtain a global vision of the state of the lake and the guidelines for action in order to preserve it as an exceptional place”. Ramos has opted for “strengthening collaboration between scientific knowledge and the actions of the Administration to protect the natural environment and value the rich environmental heritage that our country treasures”.

During the day, the scientists presented the different points of view on the current situation of Lake Sanabria, the largest surface of water of glacial origin in the Iberian Peninsula.

Thus, the Doctor in Biology and international consultant, Miguel Alonso, has addressed the situation of the quality of the lake’s water in the last 26 years. The Doctor in Biology of the International Biological Station, Antonio Guillén, also participated, whose presentation was entitled “The recovery of Lake Sanabria, a possible reality”. For her part, the Program Director in the Water Environment Area of the Center for Hydrographic Studies of CEDEX, Caridad de Hoyos, focused her intervention on the ecological state of Lake Sanabria in terms of phytoplankton. In this area, Ana Isabel Negro, PhD in Biology and professor at the University of Salamanca, has addressed the composition of the lake’s phytoplankton.

During the day, the biologist Agustín Monteoliva has highlighted the results of the work to evaluate phosphorus (the main nutrient responsible for the growth of the lake’s biomass) that enters the body of water.

For his part, the representative of the Duero Hydrographic Confederation, Urbano Sanz, has presented the situation of the ecological state of the lake. Water quality was also the focus of Dr. Santos Cirujano’s intervention.

The conference has made it possible to create a scientific-technical forum for reflection on the situation of the mass of glacial origin of Sanabria, as well as on the guidelines for its conservation in the future.