- This expedition will travel through protected marine areas located off the coasts of the Region of Murcia, the Valencian Community, the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Andalusia
- Guided tours and sessions will be held in the ports to inform about the values and opportunities offered by these spaces
- The Natura 2000 Network in the Spanish Mediterranean includes 128 marine or maritime-terrestrial areas totalling more than 4 million hectares
The Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), in coordination with the Directorate General for Biodiversity, Forests and Desertification and the autonomous communities involved, has launched an information navigation campaign that will visit 10 marine areas of the Natura 2000 Network in the Mediterranean until 6 June. The aim is to raise awareness of the ecological value, benefits and opportunities offered by marine protected areas, as well as to involve citizens in their responsible and sustainable use.
The campaign, which started this Friday and will reach the coasts of the Region of Murcia, the Valencian Community, the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Andalusia, is part of the European project LIFE A-MAR, Knowing and loving the marine spaces of the Natura 2000 Network to protect them, of which the Biodiversity Foundation is a partner. This project is coordinated by the Italian Federation of Parks and Nature Reserves (Federparchi), and is being developed in parallel in Italy and Spain. In addition, its results will be transferred to other countries in the Mediterranean basin such as Malta, Albania, France and Greece.
The seven marine protected areas of the Natura 2000 Network in which activities will be carried out are Calblanque, Monte de las Cenizas and Peña del Águila, in the Region of Murcia; Montgó-Cap de Sant Antoni, in the Valencian Community; Ses Salines d ́Eivissa i Formentera and Sa Dragonera, in the Balearic Islands; Montgrí, Les Medes i El Baix Ter and Delta de l’Ebre Natural Park, in Catalonia; as well as Cabo de Gata-Níjar, in Andalusia.
In addition, the sailboat’s crossing will also pass through many other areas where images will be taken and wildlife sightings will be made, such as the areas of the Balearic Islands Canal de Ibiza, Badies de Pollença i Alcúdia (Mallorca) and Costa sud de Menorca – Costa Nord de Ciutadella (Menorca) as well as the Menorca Channel.
SAILING TOUR AND ACTIVITIES
The nautical crossing has begun in the port of Cabo de Palos (Murcia) and will end in the port of San José, in Cabo de Gata (Almeria). It will be carried out on a sailing catamaran that will make eight stops in ports located in protected areas or very close to them. These activities are carried out in coordination with the autonomous communities and with the Directorate-General for Biodiversity, Forests and Desertification of MITECO, which are responsible for the management of each of these spaces.
At each stop, guided tours will be offered with the aim of raising awareness of the natural values of the marine areas of the Natura 2000 Network. Participants will be provided with information materials about the natural area visited and the Natura 2000 Network. In addition, training and participatory sessions will be carried out with socio-economic agents and the local population.
THE NATURA 2000 NETWORK AND THE MEDITERRANEAN
The Natura 2000 Network is the network of protected areas of the European Union. Its purpose is to ensure the long-term conservation of priority species and habitats for Europe, and to contribute to halting the loss of biodiversity, while ensuring economic development that respects these important natural values.
The Spanish Mediterranean is made up of 128 marine or maritime-terrestrial areas that add up to more than 4 million hectares. In total, these spaces cover 16% of the Spanish waters in this marine region, which include reefs, posidonia meadows, sea turtles and cetaceans, among other habitats and marine fauna.
One of the particularities of this protection figure is that specific protection and management measures are established in these spaces, so that the human activities carried out are compatible with the maintenance of a favourable state of conservation of the natural heritage.
The protection of these marine spaces also generates multiple services that contribute to well-being, including climate regulation, oxygen release, food, knowledge generation and the maintenance of biodiversity, among others.
LIFE A-MAR
The LIFE A-MAR project is coordinated by the Italian Federation of Natural Parks and Reserves (Federparchi – Europarc Italia) and partners are Triton Research, the MITECO Biodiversity Foundation and Lipu. Co-financiers include the Asinara National Park, the Tuscan Archipelago National Park and the Cinque Terre National Park. It has the financial contribution of the LIFE Program of the European Union.
Within the framework of this European project, 15 citizen science workshops will also be developed until September, as well as new training activities. The actions in Spain of the LIFE A-MAR project are promoted by the Biodiversity Foundation.
