On the occasion of the International Day of Forests, Vice President and Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, highlighted the value of our main "ecological infrastructure" and the importance of managing it properly.
Madrid will host the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. Spain, as the host country in 2022, has organized, through the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) and in collaboration with the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), a series of events on June 16 and 17 to commemorate this key date in the fight against this global problem.
The Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) has received 116 applications for the 2022 call for grants for research programs and projects related to biodiversity management. The call is part of the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan (PRTR), funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU. Of the total, 31 of the proposals correspond to groups of up to four entities.
The Spanish Network of Biosphere Reserves (RERB), managed by the Autonomous Agency for National Parks (OAPN) of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, is announcing the second edition of the "Biosphere Reserve Recognition for Environmental Commitment" to recognize organizations operating in these areas, contributing to the conservation of their heritage and promoting development, training, and research within them.
The Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) has launched a governance demonstration project in the protected marine area of Marina Alta (Alicante), declared a Site of Community Importance (SCI) and Special Protection Area for Birds (SPA) within the Natura 2000 Network.
During the summer and fall of 2020, episodes of interaction between several orca whales (Orcinus orca) and vessels, mainly sailboats, began to occur both in the Strait of Gibraltar and off the Galician coast. These incidents have continued in subsequent years.
After two weeks of work, the 100 Spanish professionals deployed to Canada to assist in extinguishing the largest wave of wildfires to hit the country are preparing to return to Spain. Personnel from the Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia, the Community of Madrid, the Region of Murcia, and the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) have collaborated with the Quebec province team. Experts from Andalusia and Catalonia have also supported the deployed contingent from Spain by analyzing the progress of the wildfires.
At the Zarza de Granadilla breeding center, seven cubs have passed their third month of life and have been named. Of this season's seven cubs, three males and four females have been given names for easy identification, both in the field and at the breeding centers. To this end, the Autonomous National Parks Agency (OAPN), under the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MITECO), has organized several votes on social media to choose names for four of the cubs. The other three names were selected by the center's staff.
The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), meeting in Bonn, Germany, from 28 August to 3 September 2023, adopted the Assessment Report on Invasive Alien Species and Their Control.
The 24th meeting of the Spanish Committee of UNESCO's Person and Biosphere (MaB) Programme was held virtually yesterday, Wednesday, where the actions carried out in 2023 within the Spanish Network of Biosphere Reserves (RERB) and the projects underway or yet to be undertaken in these territories were presented.