The LIFE ECOREST project has held its second strategic commission in Barcelona, with 25 participants from different public administrations, fishermen’s guilds, NGOs and project partners.
This commission, part of the governance and participation actions, performs an advisory function on specific issues. It also aims to consolidate participatory governance in fisheries protection zones beyond the end of ECOREST in 2026.
The members of this organization are the project partners, the Federació de Pescadors de Barcelona, collaborating fishermen’s associations, the Direcció General de Política Marítima i Pesca Sostenible and Direcció General de Polítiques Ambientals i Medi Natural of the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Secretaría General de Pesca of the Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación, as well as the Dirección General de Biodiversidad, Bosques y Desertificación and the Dirección General de la Costa y el Mar of the Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico.
During this second meeting, the project’s progress was presented from the three pillars of operation: research, participation, and governance, as well as communication and awareness-raising. The progress made in restoring coral and gorgonian populations, training activities for the sector, the environmental education programme, the project’s transfer plan and its associated actions were highlighted.
Under the umbrella of this results transfer action, the project has the participation of the Conil fishermen’s guild, SOLDECOCOS and GENGOB to share the coral rescue activities they are carrying out on fishing boats in the Alboran Sea and the opportunity to replicate the experiences and lessons learned in LIFE ECOREST.
In addition, two cross-cutting issues have been discussed, such as the project’s contribution to implementing the recently approved Restoration Regulation and the future National Restoration Plan and the integration of the lessons learned from ECOREST in other relevant sectoral policies, such as Marine Strategies, marine spatial planning, the Natura 2000 Network, and fisheries policy.
LIFE ECOREST
The LIFE ECOREST project aims to restore nearly 30,000 hectares of deep-sea habitats in Catalonia in an area of high ecological value along the coastline of Girona and Barcelona, with the active participation of the fishing sector.
This initiative, which is coordinated by the ICM-CSIC, has as partners the Federació Territorial de Confraries de Pescadors de Girona, the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, the University of Barcelona and WWF Spain, as well as the financial contribution of the European Union’s LIFE Programme