The Biodiversity Foundation presents this city council as the winner of the “Capital of Biodiversity” Competition, within the framework of the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

The Biodiversity Foundation presents this city council as the winner of the “Capital of Biodiversity” Competition, within the framework of the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

The Capital of Biodiversity has found a very special place at the 10th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP) in Nagoya, Japan, a meeting in which the Government of Spain is taking part these days.

In the parallel event aimed at the action of local governments for biodiversity, called “City Biodiversity Summit 2010”, which is taking place until today, the Biodiversity Foundation has facilitated the participation of the Mayor of the Royal Site of San Ildefonso as the winning municipality of the “Capital of Biodiversity” Contest.

The Mayor of El Real Sitio de San Ildefonso, has participated today in a table dedicated to evaluating the economic advantages of good biodiversity management at the local level. José Luis Vázquez has listed there the motivations that led the Jury of the Capital of Biodiversity Awards to recognize his municipality with this award. Among them, he mentioned that the municipality is very representative of the Spanish State, in terms of population (since it is part of the 90.76 percent of municipalities with less than 10,000 inhabitants) and that, for 15 years, it has defended a development model based on historical, environmental and cultural identities, promoting coexistence between respect for the environment, the generation of wealth and the quality of life of the neighbors.

In the Plenary of the Summit, the Mayor has defended the contribution of rural municipalities to the conservation of biodiversity. “Large cities occupy 10 percent of the territory and are home to 90 percent of the population. Rural municipalities are home to 10 percent of the population and take care of 90 percent of the remaining territory, which is home to practically all of the natural heritage and biodiversity,” said Vázquez. And he added: “Only by generating opportunities for the citizens of the rural world, who are the ones who are sustaining biodiversity for society as a whole, will we achieve the challenge of stopping its loss”.

Imma Mayol, Deputy Mayor of Barcelona City Council, also participated in the meeting. By the way, Barcelona won the 2nd prize in the “Capital of Biodiversity” Competition, in the category of cities with more than 30,000 inhabitants.

It should be noted that, within the framework of this contest promoted by the Biodiversity Foundation, 16 Spanish municipalities were awarded for their conservation initiatives and for the firm will to make the protection of nature a priority and participatory activity.

Meanwhile, the Director of the International Department of the Biodiversity Foundation, Sonia Castañeda, disseminates in Japan the results of the first pilot edition of the “Capital of Biodiversity” Contest, whose main objective is to increase the protection of nature in Spanish municipalities by promoting initiatives that municipalities direct to the conservation of their natural heritage.

The competition is part of the LIFE+ project “European Capitals of Biodiversity”. Hence the intervention of the Biodiversity Foundation and its European partners in the presentations of this event that aims to become a continental reference.

The Government of Spain has also facilitated the participation of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) in the meeting. There, the FEMP presented the experience of the Network of Local Governments + Biodiversity 2010 (which brings together more than 200 representatives of local corporations dedicated to the promotion of local policies for the protection of the natural environment and sustainable use of resources). The President of the Network, Maria Antonia Perez León, President of the Guadalajara Provincial Council, highlighted the important role that the Network is playing as a promoter of biodiversity policies in municipalities and as a forum for the exchange of experiences and knowledge.

LOCAL EXPERTISE IS INCORPORATED INTO THE GLOBAL FORUM

One of the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity is that biodiversity conservation initiatives are promoted not only at the national level but also at the local level. The role of local authorities is, in this sense, crucial, as is the exchange of experiences developed on a small scale in global forums. Undoubtedly, the task of involving municipalities and local corporations in global discussions is proposed as a priority for the organizers of Summits and other international meetings.

The Nagoya Cities for Biodiversity Summit, in which mayors from cities around the world participate (including those of Nagoya, Curitiba, Montreal, Cape Town, Malmö, Paris and Brussels), is part of this mission set by the United Nations, to facilitate the exchange of experiences and information between local authorities from all over the world.

And while the conservation of biodiversity and the monitoring of its increase or deterioration require the expansion of local initiatives, the conclusions of this Cities Summit will be taken to the High-Level segment of COP 10, for inclusion in the final results. In fact, the Summit has issued the “Nagoya Declaration”, which will be presented by the Mayor of Nagoya to the Plenary of the Conference of the Parties in the High-Level Segment that will take place tomorrow, Wednesday morning, and in which nearly 200 countries participate.

For more information on the “City Biodiversity Summit 2010”, click here.