Oceana joins Cabrera National Park board of trustees
Oceana, designated to the position by Spanish conservationist organizations, will push for the enlargement of the marine area and reinstatement of its budget.
Press Release Date: April 4, 2013
Location: Madrid
Contact:
Oceana Web | email: webadmin@oceana.org | tel.: 202.000.0000
Amigos de la Tierra, Ecologistas en Acción, Greenpeace, SEO/Birdlife and WWF Spain have unanimously designated Oceana as the representative of Spanish conservationist organisations on the Board of Trustees of the Cabrera Maritime-Terrestrial National Park. Oceana will use this appointment to promote the enlargement of the park, a proposal made by the organisation, which secured unanimous support from the Board of Trustees in 2011.
Though the Board recommended promoting the work for the extension of the national park boundaries, so far the Regional Government has taken no steps to implement the recommendations made.
“We are grateful for the trust placed in us by our colleagues from other environmental organisations. Oceana will make use of its position in the Cabrera Board of Trustees to advance the enlargement of the national park and reverse the dramatic reduction of its economic and human resources. It is crucial that the park returns to the budget available two years ago, as the current situation is unsustainable and endangers the valuable biodiversity of this natural space”, says the Executive Director of Oceana in Europe, Xavier Pastor. “For this reason, we request that the Chair of the Board hold a meeting as soon as possible to bring to an end these months of inactivity.”
At least one Board meeting must be held every quarter, according to regulations. This public body is composed of the people most involved in conservation of the park, including the Spanish and Regional Governments and the fishing sector. Oceana will represent Spanish NGOs during the next four years. Regional environmental associations are represented by GOB.
“Though Oceana does not oppose the closing of the lavish visitor’s centre in Colònia de Sant Jordi, we demand that the 700.000 € which will be saved with its closing not be employed in other budget areas, but rather that it be invested in the partial recovery of the national park budget, and used for park surveillance and control expenses. The Visitor’s Centre staff should not be made redundant, but reassigned to fieldwork in Cabrera. Furthermore, Oceana demands that the 4,000 fish and invertebrates in the Centre aquariums be released into the national park waters, where they belong”, added Pastor.
Board of Trustees duties towards national parks, as established by law, are to provide advice, as well as to promote, monitor and control management of these protected areas. These duties include proposing regulations to better defend the natural wealth, and promote potential enlargements.
As the body for society’s involvement in the management of these protected areas, the Cabrera Board of Trustees has great weight and responsibility to improve the conservation of natural resources, and thus ensure better social and economic use of the protected space.
Further information: Cabrera
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