The Secretary of State for Rural Affairs and Water and president of the Biodiversity Foundation, Josep Puxeu, and the president of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP), Pedro Castro, chaired this Friday the event in commemoration of the International Day of Biodiversity, organized by the FEMP in collaboration with the Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs.

Josep Puxeu highlighted the role of the FEMP’s Network of Local Governments + Biodiversity in the defence of animal and plant species in their environment. In this sense, he stressed the
development of projects for the conservation and increase of biodiversity and education of citizens carried out by the 215 local entities integrated in the Network.

In this way, the Secretary of State for Rural Affairs and Water has stressed that the loss of biodiversity knows no administrative limits, so protection and conservation is the task of
and emphasised the usefulness of networking, in which administrations, companies, non-governmental organisations and citizens can act quickly and effectively.

He also stressed the importance of joint work between the MARM and the FEMP in this area, which is gaining even more weight in a country like Spain, which has one of the largest natural heritages in the world.
Europe.

However, Josep Puxeu stressed that, in parallel, the MARM is carrying out other effective policies and actions in defence of biodiversity. Thus, he has emphasized the “Program of Paths and Natural Routes and Greenways”, whose objective is to give an alternative use to those infrastructures (cattle tracks, railway lines, abandoned roads or “historic” roads) that have fallen into disuse, for the enjoyment of citizens.

He has also accentuated the MARM’s actions in raising awareness and citizen participation, which are fundamental for prevention and conservation, including the volunteering programme in rivers, the seminars on volunteering for the conservation of biodiversity and the programmes aimed at environmental education in schools (such as the BIO+2010 Award).

After the speeches of the Secretary of State for Rural Affairs and Water and the President of the FEMP, the president of the Network of Local Governments + Biodiversity 2010 and of the Provincial Council of Guadalajara, María Antonia Pérez, read the Manifesto that commits local entities to the preservation of biological diversity.

This commitment of the local entities has been developed throughout the morning in other local entities belonging to the Network. At the event, a catalogue was distributed with the projects developed by local conservation entities, habitats, fauna, flora, etc.