The Minister for Ecological Transition has inaugurated the photographic exhibition “Moments” on the first two national parks in Spain.
The Minister for Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, today inaugurated the photographic exhibition “Moments” which recalls the origins of the first two national parks in Spain, Picos de Europa and Ordesa and Monte Perdido, which celebrate their centenary in 2018. The exhibition will remain open until September 15 at the Royal Botanical Garden (RJB-CSIC) and then travel to the four capitals of the provinces that host the parks: León, Oviedo, Santander and Huesca. The itinerary of the exhibition will conclude in Zaragoza, next December.
Ribera has encouraged the people of Madrid and visitors to get to know the exhibition, which is located in the heart of the artistic axis of the capital. “We should not miss some of the most emblematic paintings of our natural art gallery,” he said.
In her speech, the minister expressed her willingness to “celebrate these 100 years of collective success” by implementing the existing protection regime to guarantee the long-term conservation of national parks, “the natural spaces that most and best define our identity as a country”, she added.
The minister wanted to emphasize the work of “those who live day by day” in national parks since “the landscapes that we admire today are the result of natural processes shaped by human action”.
Ribera considers that “it is in this link with society that national parks find their raison d’être”. In this sense, he recalled that the Network received 15 million visitors in 2017, half a million more than the previous year, and indicated that “national parks turn those who visit them into authentic ambassadors of conservationism”.
Finally, the minister pointed out that “the in-depth analysis of the habitats and ecosystems of the Spanish territory that are not yet represented in the Network will allow us to define future additions”. Specifically, he referred to the expansion of the Cabrera National Park and the future declaration of the Sierra de las Nieves National Park, in Malaga. He also pointed out that “our efforts will be concentrated on achieving another milestone for the network: achieving the highest level of conservation for the sea of Las Calmas, on the island of El Hierro”.
Exhibition ‘Moments’
Ribera visited the exhibition Momentos together with the Secretary of State for the Environment, Hugo Morán, the Minister of Infrastructure, Territorial Planning and Environment of the Principality of Asturias, Fernando Lastra, the Secretary General of CSIC, Alberto Sereno, the Director of the RJB-CSIC, Esteban Manrique, and the Director of the Autonomous Agency of National Parks, Juan José Areces.
The exhibition proposal, in line with the concept of the centenary celebration, is based on the words written by Isaac Newton quoting Bernard of Chartres: “If I have seen farther it is because I am sitting on the shoulders of giants”, because when contemplating the immensity of the natural landscapes of Picos de Europa and Ordesa and Monte Perdido, they are understood in their entirety.
Thus, in two large-format images of two national parks, at the gates of the Royal Botanical Garden next to the Puerta del Rey, on the Paseo del Prado, any passer-by will be able to fly over the grandeur of the Naranjo de Bulnes or the Ordesa valley. While in an open-air tour, among trees, plants and flowers, in the tranquility of the Paseo de Carlos III, inside the Garden, 32 photographs will allow visitors to enter different “moments” rescued from the past and present of our Giants. This exhibition does not intend to make a historical review of the Parks honored, but to bring together a series of stories that. Through images, they talk about the thousand facets that these emblematic spaces treasure.
