Spain working to save the environment

SPAIN has contributed millions to preserving ecosystems and endangered species.

In the last five years, the Spanish Government has allocated €6.5 million to the preservation of ecosystems and endangered species in a dozen countries in Africa, Central America and Asia through the United Nations Environment Programme.

By working closely with the UN, Spain has contributed to saving the monk seal in Mauritania from becoming extinct and to protecting turtles in Western Africa and whales in the Pacific and the Caribbean.

“We tend to believe preservation does not have a price tag, but when we look at the numbers we realise that is not the case. If the protected areas had not worked adequately, the losses would have far exceeded the investment made,” said project coordinator Juan Criado talking to Spanish international news agency EFE.

The alliance between Spain and the United Nations Environment Programme was forged in 2010 with a two-fold goal in mind: extending the network of protected areas and improving their management.

The funds pledged by Spain have also helped improve health services in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), develop sustainable agriculture and fishing projects in Panama, El Salvador, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau, improve the efficiency and maintenance of natural resources in those countries and promote community-based tourism in Indonesia and the DRC.