The Vice-President and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, has presented, on the occasion of World Wetlands Day, the Government’s commitment to promote the recovery of wetlands. Spain has set itself the goal of recovering 20,000 hectares of wetlands by 2030, which will complement the 18,000 hectares already restored in recent decades.
This was announced by the vice-president on the occasion of the celebration of World Wetlands Day, in an event that was also attended by the director of the Biodiversity Foundation of MITECO, Elena Pita; the president of the European Federation of Freshwater Sciences (EFFS) and professor of ecology at the University of Valencia, Antonio Camacho, and the managing director of the Global Nature Foundation, Eduardo de Miguel.
Under the slogan Wetlands and water, this year highlights the essential role played by wetland ecosystems for human survival in the face of the water crisis.
During his speech, Ribera pointed out the importance of Spain’s accession to the Ramsar Convention in 1982, which “marked a turning point in the protection of wetlands in our country”. With 75 areas occupying more than 300,000 hectares, Spain is the third country with the most wetlands included in the Ramsar Convention, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary, only behind the United Kingdom and Mexico, which demonstrates our country’s strong commitment to the conservation of these ecosystems and their restoration.
In 25 years, at least 18,000 hectares of wetlands have been recovered and important achievements have been made in its conservation, but great challenges remain and new challenges remain to reverse its loss and degradation.
EFFORT IN RESTORATION
Faced with this situation, the Vice-President highlighted the Spanish Government’s firm will to take decisive action in the field of catering. “It is not only a matter of properly conserving wetlands, but of continuing to undertake the progressive restoration of all those who can recover the structure and functions lost by human action,” he explained.
To this end, the objective is to achieve the recovery of another 20,000 hectares of wetland, as well as the partial restoration of three of the largest Spanish wetlands lost in the past: Laguna de la Janda, Laguna de Antela and Mar de Campos.
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK FOR WETLAND RECOVERY
This objective is aligned with European biodiversity policies. The EU’s 2030 Biodiversity Strategy specifies the obligation for European countries to improve at least 30% of the habitats and species in the worst state of conservation, including those in wetlands.
In turn, the Strategic Plan for the Conservation of Natural Heritage and Biodiversity and the update of the Strategic Plan for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands, both in the drafting phase, plan to include objectives related to the management, conservation and restoration of wetlands.
HYDROLOGICAL PLANNING
Along these lines, the management plans will include the necessary measures to contribute effectively to progress towards a favourable conservation status of the types of habitats and species linked to water. In rivers, which act as important connectors of ecosystems, ecological restoration measures will be applied. Hydrological reserves will be especially protected, so it is expected to reach a network of more than 3,500 km of river nature reserves. As a fundamental tool, the National River Restoration Strategy will be reviewed and updated.
In turn, the National Strategy for Green Infrastructure and Ecological Connectivity and Restoration will also be an essential tool to identify, conserve and recover damaged ecosystems throughout the Spanish territory and connect them with each other.
With regard to the conservation of wetlands in the worst state of conservation, the objective for 2025 is to ensure that Doñana and the Tablas de Daimiel have left the Montreux list of the Ramsar Convention in which those wetlands with significant threats to their survival are listed, and that no other wetlands are incorporated into this list.
As for the protection of threatened species typical of these ecosystems, conservation actions will be applied so that those that are in a critical situation, such as the European mink, the marbled teal and the prickly pear, have improved their status by 2030.
RECOVERY PLAN FUNDS
To achieve these objectives, funds from the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan will be channelled through the Directorate-General for Biodiversity, Forests and Desertification, which will be used for the execution of projects of this type presented by the regional administrations, as well as through the calls for aid from the Biodiversity Foundation (MITECO).
Elena Pita, its director, has highlighted the importance of working in coordination and promoting alliances to integrate the actors in this task and achieve success in the process of recovering wetlands. Along these lines, he stressed “three key factors to face this challenge and promote action: management, financing and knowledge to introduce innovative solutions. The Foundation’s calls for aid in 2021 will be aligned with this objective and will support, as one of the priority lines, the recovery of wetlands”.
For his part, the researcher Antonio Camacho stressed that “the conservation of wetlands is not an option, it is the only option”. He also stressed that “the ecosystem services provided by wetlands double the monetary value of the world economy. They are also the most biologically active ecosystems and great allies in the fight against climate change, as long as they are well conserved and restored”.
Finally, the managing director of the Global Nature Foundation, Eduardo de Miguel, explained how they work in these ecosystems through technological innovation applied to conservation, involving different actors to identify restoration as “an engine of economic development”. He also pointed out the importance of public sector aid in the recovery of wetlands and stressed the value of private financing.
