The LIFE ECOREST project promotes participation, governance and capacity building among its actions with the aim of integrating all the agents involved, both in the territory and at national level. Within this framework, the second meeting of the project’s Strategic Commission was held in Barcelona.
The meeting was attended by the partners, the Barcelona Fishermen’s Federation, the fishermen’s associations that collaborate in the project, the Directorate General for Maritime Policy and Sustainable Fisheries and the Directorate General for Environmental Policies and Natural Environment of the Generalitat de Catalunya, as well as the General Secretariat for Fisheries of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA) and the Directorate General for Biodiversity, Forests and Desertification and the Directorate General for the Coast and Sea of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO).
Participants shared the progress of the project and discussed joint actions to achieve a successful marine restoration process along the continental margin of the Catalan coast.
In addition, the Deputy Director General of Terrestrial and Marine Biodiversity of MITECO, Fernando Magdaleno, presented the contents, obligations, and responsibilities arising from the future European Restoration Law, expected to be approved in early 2024.
Training workshop
In the field of governance and capacity building, a training workshop was held in the Blanes fishermen’s guild. Under the title “How to promote the culture of participation we want?”, WWF Spain, project partner, has provided tools to promote spaces for dialogue and encourage capacity building around participatory work. The workshop was attended by LIFE ECOREST partners, fishermen and representatives of the Roses fishermen’s association, among other participants.
LIFE ECOREST
The LIFE ECOREST project aims to restore approximately 30,000 hectares of deep-sea marine habitats in Catalonia, with active participation from the fishing sector.
This initiative, coordinated by ICM-CSIC, has partners such as Federació Territorial de Confraries de Pescadors de Girona, Fundación Biodiversidad del Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico, Universitat de Barcelona and WWF España. It also receives financial support from the LIFE Program of the European Union.