Study the impact of wind farms or certain fishing activities in these spaces, among its objectives
The Council of Ministers approved this Tuesday the master plan of the Network of Marine Protected Areas of Spain (RAMPE) to promote biodiversity in these spaces, their effective management and that all are well connected and that includes measures such as the analysis of the impact of renewable energies or fishing in them and that, according to the third vice president of the Government, Teresa Ribera, will contribute to achieving an ocean that is more resilient to climate change.
In addition, the Executive has approved the minimum common criteria for its management. The RAMPE was created in 2010 in order to provide added value to the spaces that are part of it in terms of conservation and recovery of natural heritage and biodiversity.
To this end, the plan will analyze the potential ecological and connectivity corridors, either by marine demarcation or on a regional and global scale; it will develop pilot projects for the adaptation of fishing gear; assess the interactions and impact of both fishing and non-fishing activities (recreational and tourist, anchoring and navigation, port activities, aquaculture, renewable energy, discharges or extraction of sand and other minerals), among others.
The plan is aligned with the laws on natural heritage and biodiversity and on the protection of the marine environment, as well as with the regulations on maritime spatial planning and European directives.
The objective is to promote an ecologically representative and well-connected network, which contributes to the favorable conservation of its species, habitats and ecosystems, and ensure the compatibility of the uses and activities carried out in these spaces with the conservation objectives.
Among other measures, the master plan will ensure the deployment of planning instruments for all the protected marine areas of the Network and will promote a harmonized zoning system based on a series of recommendations that must be prepared in accordance with the Biodiversity Strategy of the Network. European Union by 2030.
Also, the plan seeks reinforce management and coordination bodies between administrations through bilateral or multilateral mechanismssuch as the marine biodiversity working group within the Interministerial Commission on Marine Strategies.
On the other hand, the plan promotes the exchange of information and the transfer of knowledge through training and awareness actions.
Ensure compliance with the law
At the same time, It will reinforce the mechanisms for compliance with regulations through collaboration between administrations for the coordinated and shared use of surveillance media.as well as the monitoring of the actions: the management instruments will have a periodic evaluation system of their results, based on objective and quantifiable indicators that allow the degree of compliance to be evaluated.
On the other hand, the plan contemplates the creation of a Scientific Committee that will function as an advisory body of the general directorates of Biodiversity, Forests and Desertification of the (MITECO) and of Sustainable Fishing (Ministry of Agriculture), and of the autonomous communities when they so request.
The guidelines contained in the Master Plan develop measures for the control and eradication of invasive alien species and pay special attention to species under special protection and/or threatened species, and to the most vulnerable, threatened or declining habitats, according to the OSPAR agreement or the Spanish Catalog of habitats in danger of disappearing.
The protected marine spaces incorporated into the RAMPE must be classified according to their management objectivesso that they are internationally comparable, ascribing to at least one of the management categories of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
In those protected areas where fishing is compatible, it will be regulated in such a way as to ensure its compatibility. with the conservation objectives, its persistence over time and the maintenance of the cultural values it represents.
In this same line, the plans, projects and activities carried out in the RAMPE spaces must guarantee that they will not imply the deterioration of the natural habitats and of the species, as well as that there will be no alterations that have repercussions on the natural values that have motivated the designation of these spaces.
The plan is in line with the commitments assumed by Spain, such as those of the European Union’s Biodiversity Strategy by 2030, which include the protection of 30% of the Union’s marine surface by 2030, in line with the objective of the new global framework for Biodiversity approved on December 19 at the Biodiversity COP15, in Montreal (Canada).
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