23/01/2024
A delegation from the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Paraguay visits Spain to learn how wetlands are managed in our country
A delegation from the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Paraguay, including professionals from the General Directorates of Protection and Conservation of Water Resources and Biodiversity, is carrying out this week in Spain a study visit to several wetlands in the Valencian Community, Castilla-La Mancha and the Community of Madrid. The ultimate goal of this exchange of experiences is to contribute to the design of public policies for the protection of the great biological wealth of Paraguayan wetlands.
The visit was organised by the FIIAPP in the framework of the European Euroclima programme, and in collaboration with the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) and the Environment Departments of the Valencian Community, Castilla La-Mancha and the Community of Madrid.
María Jesús Rodríguez de Sancho, director general of Biodiversity, Forests and Desertification at MITECO, welcomed the Paraguayan delegation to the MITECO headquarters in Madrid on Monday, highlighting the opportunity ‘for mutual learning’ that the visit represented and the ‘tremendous importance’ of wetlands ‘both for the mitigation of climate change and for the preservation of biodiversity’. ‘This is a key message that we must be able to convey to society,’ Rodríguez de Sancho stressed.
Almudena Barrio, Euroclima coordinator at FIIAPP, stressed that ‘it is necessary to align the agendas of climate change and biodiversity conservation to achieve a virtuous circle in which the conservation of natural wealth contributes to slowing climate change and the mitigation of climate change slows down the destruction of natural wealth. The protection of wetlands is one of the pillars on which this virtuous circle must be built.
Flavia Fiore, Director of Watershed Management at the General Directorate of Protection and Conservation of Water Resources of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Paraguay (MADES), welcomed the opportunity to learn first-hand how wetlands are managed in Spain and stressed that ‘the preservation of wetlands is a key objective for our government. However, it is not an easy task, due to the numerous pressures that these protected natural spaces endure’.
Wetlands – natural flooded or floodable areas – are home to a multitude of animal species, particularly birds and fish, and in addition to contributing to the preservation of biodiversity, they provide a multitude of environmental and economic benefits. Among these, the Ramsar Convention (the intergovernmental treaty on the conservation and wise use of wetlands) highlights freshwater and food supply, flood control, groundwater recharge and climate change mitigation.
Paraguay is home to important natural areas that fall into the category of wetlands. Among the most emblematic are places such as the Pantanal of the Paraguay River, the humid Chaco and the Lake Ypoá basin.
Faced with these threats, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of the Government of Paraguay has decided to implement public policies that balance the needs of economic development and the preservation of the natural wealth of its wetlands. The Paraguayan authorities are working on the design of a strategic plan for the conservation and wise use of its wetlands and the implementation of a National Wetlands Committee to ensure compliance with the plan.
The European Union decided months ago to support the Paraguayan authorities, through Euroclima and two of the agencies implementing this programme – the French Expertise France and the Spanish FIIAPP – in achieving these objectives, which will enable some of South America’s most valuable natural areas to be protected. The study visit of the Paraguayan delegation to Spain is one of the measures included in the joint action programme agreed between the Euroclima Programme and the Government of Paraguay, which also includes an extensive technical assistance programme for the development of the regulations that should protect Paraguayan wetlands.
During this visit, MADES staff visited the wetlands of Marjal del Moros and L’Albufera in the Valencian Community and Cañada del Hoyo and El Hito in Castilla-La Mancha. Also the Lagunas del Alto Záncara and Alcázar de San Juan in Castilla-La Mancha. Finally, tomorrow, Friday, they will travel to the Jarama wetlands in the Community of Madrid.
During these days, the Paraguayan delegation is learning about the wetland management experience of different Spanish public administrations, as well as the governance mechanisms and policy instruments related to these natural spaces in force in the country, in particular the National Wetlands Committee, the Wetlands Inventory and the National Strategic Plan for Wetlands.
In addition, he is having the opportunity to learn first-hand about the problems faced by different wetlands in Spain and the restoration and improvement projects promoted through the collaboration of different bodies (government, civil society, private sector and academia) to achieve the conservation and wise use of these ecosystems.