PALMA
WITH only three years left to reach the deadline imposed by the United Nations to protect at least 10% of the world's marine areas, Spain needs to quickly increase the meagre 0.5% it currently protects. This means almost 65 km2 must be protected per day, according to global marine protection organisation Oceana.
In an event presided over by the director of the Fundación Biodiversidad, Ana Leiva, and the director of Oceana in Europe, Xavier Pastor, the Proposal of ecologically important marine areas: South Atlantic and Spanish Mediterranean was presented. The proposal consists of a scientific report based on research carried out by Oceana with support from the Fundación Biodiversidad.
The report includes a proposal for the protection of 25 marine areas, most of which are currently unprotected, because of their ecological importance.
The designation of new protected marine areas such as Seco de los Olivos (Andalusia), the seamounts of the Majorca channel (Balearics), the canyons of Palamos and Creus (Catalonia), the Seco de Palos (facing Murcia) and Cape Nao (region of Valencia), along with the expansion of other already protected areas such as Columbretes, Alborán and Doñana, are some of Oceana's proposals in this report concerning approximately 50 areas in the Spanish Mediterranean and adjacent Atlantic waters.
Currently, Spain protects more than 5'000 kilometres of marine areas under various denominations, but this figure must be increased to approximately 100'000 km2.
According to the United Nations Biodiversity Convention, at least 10% of the world's marine areas must be protected by 2012 in order to halt biodiversity loss in the oceans. The International Union for Conservation of Nature, however, recommends increasing this percentage to 20-30% to reach this objective.