The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment (MAGRAMA) together with the Agency for International Cooperation and Development (AECID) and the Andalusian regional government (CMAOT) in Spain have renewed their commitment to support the activities of the Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN-Med). The new addendum signed by the four parties will extend the General Protocol of Cooperation initially formalized in 2010, whose objective is to promote conservation and sustainable development of the Mediterranean hotspot.

The renewal of the Spanish commitment will support IUCN-Med in Malaga (Spain), in the implementation of initiatives aiming to achieve the conservation targets set by the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Bonn Convention, and other environmental international agreements at regional level, in particular, the Barcelona Convention, and the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans in the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and contiguous Atlantic area (ACCOBAMS).

At the end of this year, IUCN-Med will celebrate its 15th anniversary since its establishment in November 2000. During its first years of operation, IUCN-Med has accomplished the development of the first Red Lists of Threatened Species at Mediterranean level; promoted the protection of the marine environment; encouraged the identification and creation of an effective network of protected areas; increased the capacity of regional actors for conservation actions; and contributed to a better environmental governance of the Mediterranean area.

"The Center constitutes this way a valuable tool for developing biodiversity conservation policies on both shores of the Mediterranean" stressed the general director of Quality, Environmental Assessment and Natural Environment of the Ministry, Guillermina Yanguas.
"This renewal is a clear reflection of the trust that Spain places in IUCN's work, and its commitment towards jointly improving the management of natural resources and biodiversity conservation in the Mediterranean," says Antonio Troya, Director of IUCN-Med. We hope that this extended agreement results in a new Protocol, which will strengthen the partnership between IUCN and Spain, which has been extremely successful over the last 15 years."

Photo: IUCN-Med, Posidonia oceanica.