- Vice-President Sara Aagesen announces the declaration of two new large Special Protection Areas for Birds (SPAs) in the Canary Islands and the proposal to incorporate an important set of Sites of Community Interest (SCIs)
- In addition, it has presented a roadmap to approve the pending management plans in marine protected areas with the aim of approving more than 40 in the next 12 months
- In addition to these measures, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, announced that Spain will reach 25.7% of the marine area protected by incorporating five new areas into the Natura 2000 Network and with the promotion of the declaration of the Mar de las Calmas National Park and the sperm whale breeding area in Menorca
Within the framework of the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3), held in Nice, Spain has announced a set of key measures to advance marine conservation and the sustainable development of the coastal environment, consolidating its role as an international actor committed to the protection of the oceans.
On Tuesday, the Vice-President of the Government and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Sara Aagesen, announced the declaration of two new large Special Protection Areas for Birds (SPAs) in the Canary Islands and the proposal to incorporate an important set of Sites of Community Interest (SCIs). These new designations will protect a total of 3,180,882.91 hectares, of which 2,965,913.24 hectares lacked any environmental protection until now.
MARINE PROTECTED AREA MANAGEMENT PLANS
In addition, the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) has presented a roadmap to approve the pending management plans in marine protected areas, an essential element to guarantee the effective conservation of these spaces. As the vice-president detailed, the goal is to approve more than 40 in the next 12 months.
In addition to these measures, the announcement made yesterday by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, that Spain will reach 25.7% of the surface area of marine protected areas, moving towards the target of 30% by 2030. To this end, five new areas will be incorporated into the Natura 2000 Network: the seamounts of the Mallorca Channel; those of Seco de Palos; the cannons of Capbreton; the banks of the Alboran Sea and the marine space of the Catalan Central Coast. Likewise, the declaration of the Mar de las Calmas National Park and the sperm whale breeding area in the north of Menorca will be promoted.
In the international arena, the president announced yesterday a new contribution of 8.5 million euros to the Blue Fund for Mediterranean Cooperation, making Spain the main donor of this initiative. “Multilateralism requires maximum consensus,” said the vice-president.
In line with the European momentum, Spain has backed the European Ocean Pact, recently approved by the European Commission, which seeks to unify all EU maritime policies and move towards a specific regulation before 2027. “Spain was the first European country to join the Global Ocean Treaty and we have encouraged the rest of the countries to do so: today we are already in 50 signatory countries and we hope to achieve 60 before the end of the year,” said Aagesen.
With regard to today’s UNOC3 meeting, the minister has advanced that she will sign two declarations: one on the reduction of plastic pollution and the other, the precautionary pause of underwater mining. In addition, he referred to the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Barcelona Convention and the celebration, in two weeks, of the ministerial meeting of the Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR Convention), which he will also attend and in which it is expected to include the region of Macaronesia with the aim of continuing to conserve marine ecosystems and safeguard human health. as well as restore marine areas that have been negatively affected by human activities.
Yesterday in Nice, the Vice-President visited Spain’s largest oceanographic vessel, the Odón de Buen, together with the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and the Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities, Diana Morant.
