Spain's eastern seaboard

The initiative submitted by Fundación Ecoalf entails cleaning up and reusing waste accumulated in protected areas of the Mediterranean Sea by establishing an alliance of fishers, scientists, industry and civil society.

Plastics captured by fishing vessels are treated at recycling plants and made useful to different industries. PET, for instance, is turned into thread which Ecoalf’s sustainable fashion label will use to make garments and accessories.

The project also uses geolocation devices to study marine debris and determine its traceability, typology and interaction with ocean currents. The results will be shared in national and international scientific forums.

Additionally, Ecoalf organises training sessions for fishers and different activities at schools to raise awareness of how debris negatively affects the marine ecosystem and the importance of the circular economy.

Menorca, Balearic Islands

Tursiops launched a project to preserve the sperm whale in the Mediterranean. The goal is to define the boundaries of a recently discovered breeding ground north of Menorca and petition the pertinent authorities to protect it in order to shield this species from the greatest threats to its survival: vessel strikes and underwater noise pollution caused by ocean traffic.

Cutting-edge instruments and methods—including hydrophones, drones, transdermal tags to track specimens via satellite, and the automatic identification system (AIS) to analyse vessel movement data—are used to collect the necessary data in the field.

The initiative also aims to get shipping companies involved in safeguarding the protected waters and to conduct a social awareness campaign that will encourage responsible nautical practices in a high-density maritime traffic area.

Ibiza, Balearic Islands

In 2023, Fundación Blue Life began working to protect and recover the biodiversity of Ibiza’s marine habitats.

Its primary courses of action consist in restoring the Posidonia oceanica or Neptune grass community and collecting data on the distribution, reproduction patterns and status of uncatalogued populations of the violescent sea-whip (Paramuricea clavata) and white gorgonian (Eunicella singularis). This information will be used to devise a suitable long-term conservation strategy for the species.

Different environmental education activities (talks, lectures and seabed cleanups) have also been designed for schools and for the island’s yacht and diving clubs.

Finally, Fundación Blue Life will try to get the tourism industry and pertinent authorities involved in designing and implementing a pilot programme of sustainable tourism based on activities related to caring for marine ecosystems.

In this handbook, members of the Brinzal association explain the vital role of pollinators, the causes and consequences of their decline, and specific actions taken in green zones of the city of Madrid as part of the Misión Polinizadores project. These actions included creating biodiversity islands, advising local authorities and developing a social awareness campaign.

In the final chapter, which studies populations of urban pollinators, the Biodiversity Monitoring Group from the Complutense University of Madrid gives a step-by-step explanation of how to set up an insect monitoring programme.