The expedition will cover marine protected areas located in front of five coastal Spanish regions: Region of Murcia, Valencian Community, the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Andalusia. The objective is to raise awareness about the benefits and opportunities of these sites and to involve citizens in their responsible and sustainable use.

The Spanish Mediterranean Natura 2000 Network comprises 128 marine or maritime-terrestrial sites, covering 16% of Spanish waters in this region. These include reefs, posidonia beds, sea turtles and cetaceans, among other priority marine habitats and fauna for Europe. Ensuring their long-term conservation is the purpose of the Natura 2000 Network, while at the same time guaranteeing economic development that respects these important natural values.

For this reason, the Fundación Biodiversidad of the Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), in coordination with the General Directorate of Biodiversity, Forests and Desertification (MITECO) and the autonomous communities involved, has launched an information sailing campaign, which will cover more than 10 marine sites of the Natura 2000 Network in the Mediterranean until 6 June.

The 7 Natura 2000 Network marine protected sites in which activities will take place are Calblanque, Monte de las Cenizas and Peña del Águila (Cartagena) in the Region of Murcia; Montgó-Cap de Sant Antoni (Xàbia, Valencia) in the Valencian Community; Ses Salines d’Eivissa i Formentera (Ibiza and Formentera) and Sa Dragonera (Mallorca) in the Balearic Islands; Parc Natural del Montgrí, Les Medes i El Baix Ter (Girona) and Delta de Delta de Sant Antoni (Mallorca) in the Balearic Islands; Ses Salines d’Eivissa i Formentera (Ibiza) and Sa Dragonera (Mallorca) in the Balearic Islands; Parc Natural del Montgrí, Les Medes i El Baix Ter (Girona) and Delta de l’Ebre (Tarragona) in Catalonia; as well as Cabo de Gata-Níjar (Almería), in Andalusia.

In addition, the sailing campaign will also pass through many other sites where images will be taken and wildlife sightings will be made, such as the sites 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 Canal de Menorca.

ACTIVITIES

The sailing campaign started on 8 May in the port of Cabo de Palos (Cartagena) and will end on 6 June in the port of San José, in Cabo de Gata (Almeria). It will take place on a sailing catamaran, which will make 8 stops in ports located in the 10 protected areas or very close to them. These activities are carried out in coordination with the Autonomous Communities as well as with the Directorate General for Biodiversity, Forests and Desertification of the Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, responsible for each of these areas.

Guided tours will be offered at each stopover with the objective of raising awareness of the natural values in Natura 2000 marine areas. Participants will be provided with information materials on the natural area visited and the Natura 2000 Network. In addition, training and participatory sessions will be held with socio-economic agents and the local population.

Within the framework of this European project, 15 citizen science workshops will also be held until September, as well as new training activities.  The actions of the LIFE A-MAR project in Spain are promoted by the Fundación Biodiversidad of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge.

LIFE A-MAR

The LIFE A-MAR project is coordinated by the Italian Federation of Parks and Nature Reserves (Federparchi – Europarc Italia), with partners including Triton Research, the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, and Lipu. Co-financing partners include Asinara National Park, the Tuscan Archipelago National Park, and the Cinque Terre National Park. It receives financial support from the European Union’s LIFE Programme.