The Vice-President and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, has announced that Spain will protect 25% of the marine surface by 2025. He did so during the World Oceans Day celebration event, at the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid, which was attended by a wide panel of experts in marine conservation at a national and international level.
The preliminary proposal put forward by MITECO, which is based on a broad scientific consensus, identifies areas of high ecological value that can be protected in order to comply with the Government’s objectives in terms of marine conservation. Currently, the marine protected area in our country accounts for just over 12% of the waters under national jurisdiction, although Spain aims to improve the conservation of the marine environment and reach 30% of the marine area protected by 2030.
This initiative will make it possible to move towards this milestone, in line with the 2020 Declaration of Climate and Environmental Emergency and the European Union Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.
“Spain wants to be at the forefront of countries that promote the protection of the ocean and the conservation of marine ecosystems as a basis for sustainable development, health and social welfare,” stressed the Vice-President in her speech.
NEW MARINE PROTECTED AREAS
This scientific approach to the adaptation of the Natura 2000 Network in Spain has been developed within the framework of the LIFE INTEMARES project, coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO). The document, which has been worked on with a pioneering methodology in Europe and a broad participation of the scientific community, identifies 104 areas of high ecological value, 71 for their importance for marine species and habitats and 33 for their interest for seabirds. It also includes 35 spaces in which it is necessary to improve knowledge.
This scientific approach to the adaptation of the Natura 2000 Network in Spain has been developed within the framework of the LIFE INTEMARES project, coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO). The document, which has been worked on with a pioneering methodology in Europe and a broad participation of the scientific community, identifies 104 areas of high ecological value, 71 for their importance for marine species and habitats and 33 for their interest for seabirds. It also includes 35 spaces in which it is necessary to improve knowledge.
On this basis, MITECO has drawn up a proposal for sites that can be protected taking into account ecological and socio-economic criteria. As a result, 11 areas have been prioritised for assessment and, where appropriate, incorporation into the Natura 2000 Network.
These are the areas called Seamounts of the Southwest, the extension of the Banco de la Concepción -both in the Canary Islands-, the Southwest Balearic Islands, Sponge Sea Mounts, Alicante Canyons in the Mediterranean, and a corridor of 5 Special Protection Areas for Birds (SPAs) in the north from Cabo Peñas to Costa da Morte. These areas add up to an additional area of more than 90,000 hectares and would represent an increase of more than 9% in protected area.
To this scheme should be added the 7 spaces that have been scientifically studied and that are going to be declared thanks to the work of LIFE INTEMARES, which would raise the marine protected area in Spain to more than 25%. These seven areas are the seamounts of the south of Mallorca, the Tiñoso and dry Palos canyon, the Cap Bretón canyon system, banks and gorges of the Alboran Sea, the eastward extension of the current SCI Eastern and Southern Lanzarote-Fuerteventura Marine Area, the Strait of Gibraltar and the Northern Marine Area of Barcelona.
WORLD OCEANS DAY
The announcement of this proposal took place during the conference “Promotion of marine conservation” organized by MITECO to commemorate World Oceans Day. This event has served to publicize the efforts made in marine conservation at an international and national level and to highlight the socioeconomic benefits derived.
The first part of the event focused on the protection of the high seas and was moderated by Rémi Parmentier, an expert in marine governance, and a panel of international speakers such as Peter Thomson, special envoy of the UN Secretary-General for the ocean, as well as representatives of multilateral organisations and different socio-economic sectors. among others.
The second panel addressed Spain’s objectives and commitments to promote marine protection and conservation in jurisdictional waters. To this end, it has had María Jesús Rodríguez de Sancho, general director of Biodiversity, Forests and Desertification of MITECO, and representatives of the scientific community and conservation organizations.
EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF PROTECTED AREAS
The LIFE INTEMARES project, coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation of MITECO, advances towards the objective of achieving an effective management of the marine spaces of the Natura 2000 Network, with the active participation of the sectors involved and with research as basic tools.
The Ministry itself, through the Directorate General for Biodiversity, Forests and Desertification, and the Sub-Directorate for the Protection of the Sea; the Regional Government of Andalusia, through the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Sustainable Development, as well as the Environment and Water Agency; the Spanish Institute of Oceanography; AZTI; the University of Alicante; the Polytechnic University of Valencia; the Spanish Fisheries Confederation, SEO/BirdLife and WWF-Spain. It is supported by the LIFE Program of the European Union.
