Spain is the second European country with the largest marine protected area, only behind the United Kingdom. The 8.5 million hectares protected in Spanish seas account for almost a quarter of the marine area included in the Natura 2000 Network, the world’s largest network for the conservation of biodiversity.

This achievement has been achieved thanks to the LIFE+ INDEMARES project, coordinated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and the Environment, through the Biodiversity Foundation, with which Spain has increased the protected marine area from 1 to 8% in recent years. In this framework, in addition, more than 50 new species were discovered for science and 49 spaces were declared for the Natura Network in the marine environment (39 Special Protection Areas for Birds (SPAs) and 10 Sites of Community Importance (SCIs)).

The protection of the oceans continues to be one of the priorities of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and the Environment. For this reason, this year the project has been launched LIFE IP INTEMARES, the largest marine environment conservation project in Europe, which will allow us to achieve the international commitment to effectively and sustainably protect more than 10% of our marine area.

For the Ministry, it is one of the most important challenges to be addressed in the coming years to achieve a Natura 2000 Network in the marine environment managed in an effective and integrated manner, with the active participation of the sectors involved and research as a basic tool for decision-making.

LIFE IP INTEMARES is coordinated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and the Environment, through the Biodiversity Foundation, which also acts as a partner through the General Directorate of Sustainability of the Coast and the Sea. The Spanish Institute of Oceanography, the Spanish Fisheries Confederation SEO/BirdLife and WWF-Spain participate as partners. It has the financial contribution of the European Union’s LIFE Programme, as well as the European Social Fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, among other sources of funding.

In addition, the Biodiversity Foundation, through its call for grants, has supported, since 2012, more than a hundred projects in the marine environment by investing 3.5 million euros.