Around 70 people take part in the workshop on regulatory and administrative aspects of land stewardship for local authorities
With the aim of strengthening the technical capacity of local authorities to promote the conservation of natural heritage, the online workshop “Regulatory and Administrative Aspects of Land Stewardship for Local Authorities” was held.
The event, organized by the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) through the Network of Local Governments +Biodiversity, and by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), was part of the activities of the Land Stewardship Platform and the LIFE Stewardship project.
The workshop brought together nearly 70 participants, including technical staff and municipal representatives interested in promoting land stewardship, a tool that promotes voluntary agreements between land or rights holders and non-profit organizations for the improvement of the natural and cultural values of an environment. In this context, local authorities play a key role as landowners, facilitators of agreements, or promoters of local policies that foster environmental governance. In Spain, 23 public local authorities already act as stewardship entities, according to the 7th Inventory of Land Stewardship Initiatives in Spain 2010–2023.
The session was opened by Eduardo Peña, Secretary of the Network of Local Governments +Biodiversity, and featured the participation of Antonio Ruiz, environmental lawyer and legal advisor to FRECT; Beatriz Sánchez, coordinator of the LIFE CUSTODIA project at the Biodiversity Foundation; and Belén López Precioso, environmental consultant and lecturer.
During the workshop, participants discussed the competential, budgetary, and legal aspects of land stewardship, as well as the legal instruments available to promote agreements on public lands. The session concluded with a segment for adressing questions and sharing experiences on the practical implementation of these mechanisms in municipalities.
The video of the workshop is available here (in Spanish).
LIFE STEWARDSHIP
The overall aim of the LIFE Stewardship project is to use land stewardship-based approaches to boost collaboration involving public and private entities as well as civil society for nature conservation and restoration in Spain, in the framework of the Europe Biodiversity Strategy 2030 and international agreements.
The project is coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Spanish Ministry of Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, with the participation of Eurosite, the Forum of Land Stewardship Networks and Entities (FRECT), Global Nature Foundation (FGN), Fernando González Bernáldez/ Europarc-Spain Foundation, SEO/BirdLife and Nature Conservation Network (XCN) as partners. It has the financial contribution of the LIFE Programme of the European Union.