Our deputy director of biodiversity and climate change, Ignacio Torres, and director of the LIFE INTEMARES project, has presented today via telematics the commitment of the Biodiversity Foundation with citizen science at the conference “With a view to the Sea”, organized by the Marilles Foundation in Palma de Mallorca. During the meeting, we presented the progress of the marine citizen science programme, which we are developing in partnership with the Sea Observers initiative of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC).

The event was also attended by the Minister of the Environment and Territory of the Government of the Balearic Islands, Miquel Mir, and representatives of the Institute of Sea Sciences of the CSIC, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), the Marilles Foundation, GEN-GOB and the University of the Balearic Islands.

The Sea Observers platform is a benchmark in marine citizen science and thanks to our alliance we promote the expansion of the program in all marine demarcations. At the moment, 14 scientific projects have been developed on protected species and habitats or impacts on biodiversity, such as marine litter or global warming, among others.

These projects have been led by more than 50 researchers, with the focus on monitoring the state of the sea and the generation of knowledge for management, with the involvement of citizens. Currently, the initiative has 2,796 observers and 264 different entities, which have reported 12,852 observations, relevant data in the marine environment, where citizen science is incipient.

With this initiative , we seek to strengthen the research network made up of citizens, the scientific community and other key local actors, with the aim that the scientific knowledge generated can be transferred to the management of marine protected areas. The activities carried out also contribute to raising awareness about the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean.

Commitment to citizen science

The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge is committed to citizen science as a participatory tool that allows citizens to get involved in nature conservation and generate scientific knowledge. Thanks to the calls for grants from the Biodiversity Foundation, since 2018 16 citizen science projects developed by various entities have been supported, of which 11 are linked to the conservation of terrestrial biodiversity and five are aimed at the marine environment, with a total budget of more than 1,175,000 euros.

Performances in the Balearic Islands

Since the beginning of LIFE INTEMARES, we have involved more than 7,700 people and 800 organizations with the main objective of achieving a change of model that allows an effective management of marine protected areas with science and participation as basic tools for decision-making.

To this end, we have launched actions linked to research and knowledge; conservation; monitoring and surveillance; governance and training, as well as communication and awareness-raising.

Among these actions, those carried out in the Balearic archipelago were highlighted today, in cooperation with the Government of the Balearic Islands, scientific institutions and organizations involved in marine conservation.

Specifically, oceanographic campaigns have been carried out to improve the scientific knowledge of the seamounts of the Mallorca Channel for their possible declaration as a new protected marine area. Actions have also been promoted to strengthen the protection of species such as the Balearic shearwater, the most endangered seabird in Europe.

The LIFE INTEMARES project is coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge and the General Directorate of Biodiversity, Forests and Desertification of the Ministry itself participates as partners; the Spanish Institute of Oceanography; the Spanish Fisheries Confederation; SEO/BirdLife and WWF Spain. It has the financial contribution of the LIFE program of the European Union.