The Secretary of State for the Environment, Pablo Saavedra, said today, at the presentation of the second edition of the Report of the Observatory of Business Management of Biodiversity, that the collaboration of the Public Administration and companies is “key” to move towards a sustainable economy.
The second edition of the Report of the Observatory of Business Management of Biodiversity, prepared by the Club for Excellence in Sustainability with the support of the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, has been presented at an event held at the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid and inaugurated by Pablo Saavedra and the Secretary General of the Club for Excellence in Sustainability. Juan Alfaro.
After assessing that in Spain this collaboration is being developed “with special intensity”, the Secretary of State stressed that “we are witnessing a progressive transformation of public opinion with regard to the relationship between development and environmental protection”.
In this sense, Saavedra has indicated that the most innovative business sector with the most future projection is already integrating the environmental variable into its strategies, as an outstanding aspect of corporate social responsibility.
In addition, he recalled that this sector is increasingly aware of the opportunities offered by the transition to a sustainable economy for economic growth and employment. “We also know that it is the basis that guarantees our economic development, as recognised by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals,” said the Secretary of State.
He also stressed that “the public authorities have incorporated into their agendas the concern and commitment to preserve our natural environment, but we are all essential actors in this task”.
Spain is the country with the most biodiversity on the European continent, as it has more than 85,000 different species; more than 30% of the Spanish territory is part of the Natura 2000 Network and we are, after Sweden, the second European country with the largest forest area, with 27.5 million hectares, as he indicated.
STABLE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
He specified that public administrations “have the responsibility to establish a stable regulatory framework, which in addition to protecting, favours the harmonisation of environmental matters with other matters such as the economic, combining environmental protection and development”.
In this line, he highlighted that the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment has worked in recent years to make progress in terms of Environmental Responsibility; including novel aspects on ecosystem services and connectivity in the Law on Natural Heritage and Biodiversity; or promoting public-private collaboration in nature conservation.
JOINT WORK
The Secretary of State also stressed that “it is time for joint work, for union, as we have seen in the last year, when 195 countries of the world have made common cause in the fight against climate change”, in reference to the Agreement reached last year during the Climate Summit held in Paris (COP 21).
The next meeting on biodiversity is the COP in Cancun (Mexico), “where we will concentrate our efforts on biodiversity,” according to Saavedra. On its margins, on December 1, the sixth meeting of the “Global Partnership on Business and Biodiversity” will be held, where it will seek to sign the “Cancun Commitment for Business and Biodiversity”, which aims to attract the largest number of companies to incorporate biodiversity into their business models.
He concluded that this is undoubtedly a “significant milestone for the business sector, necessary to internalize and know the links and dependencies of natural resources, as well as the importance of changing approaches towards more sustainable practices”.
