On December 10, the Annual Prismàtic Conference took place, facilitating knowledge exchange between researchers and management staff for the preservation of natural heritage. This year, the event focused on the new European Nature Restoration Law and how it can be applied in Catalonia. Researchers from CEAB-CSIC participated in the conference.
The recent approval of the European Nature Restoration Law represents a step forward in the conservation of natural environments and biodiversity, with a strong focus on restoring degraded areas across Europe. This regulation sets ambitious targets: restoring 20% of degraded ecosystems by 2030, reaching 60% by 2040, and achieving full recovery by 2050. It covers a wide range of ecosystems, including forests, wetlands, farmland, and marine areas.
How will Catalonia tackle this challenge? How will it implement this European law? The conference explored the implications of developing it in our territory. Key questions included how to adapt environmental policies to meet European requirements, how restoration initiatives can align with local socio-economic needs, and which projects are already advancing ecosystem recovery.
Regarding this last point, researchers from CEAB-CSIC contributed to the discussion. Specifically, the head of the Marine Ecology Department and researcher in the benthic ecosystem functioning group, Emma Cebrian, and the researcher in the integrative ecology of freshwater systems group and coordinator of the Life Resque Alpyr project, Marc Ventura. They spoke respectively about the conservation and restoration of marine ecosystems and the restoration of aquatic ecosystems in protected areas of the Pyrenees.
Emma Cebrian’s talk focused particularly on the conservation of shallow marine areas. She discussed why their preservation is crucial, the importance of protecting habitat “structurers” (i.e., vegetation that forms “marine forests”), and what actions are needed to conserve those still in good condition. She also shared some successful restoration experiences carried out in the Mediterranean.
Marc Ventura addressed the renaturalization of high-mountain lakes and other aquatic ecosystems in the Pyrenees, with actions such as removing invasive fish species. He explained that the interventions of Life Resque Alpyr (and the preceding research project) are enabling the recovery of native animals that had disappeared from these areas, such as the Pyrenean newt, the spadefoot toad, several bat species and the Pyrenean desman. At the same time, they are restoring the overall ecological health of these ecosystems, which, despite being in remote areas, are heavily impacted by human activities.
Annual Prismàtic Conference
It gathers professionals from various fields to share scientific evidence, management experiences, and present governance models that inspire enriching and constructive debate on the path to achieving nature preservation goals.
The event included, among others, the Secretary of Ecological Transition of the Department of Territory of the Government of Catalonia, the Director General of Environmental Policies and Natural Environment of the Government of Catalonia, and the Deputy Director General of the Ministry of Ecological Transition. In the research domain, participants included experts from the Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF), the Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC), the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), and the University of Barcelona (UB).
The event was held at the Administrative District of the Government of Catalonia in Barcelona. It is an initiative of the Department of Climate Action of the Government of Catalonia, coordinated by the Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF).
You can watch the full conference at this link.
L'entrada How to implement the new Nature Restoration Law? ha aparegut primer a CEAB.