The Andalusian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock Farming, Fisheries and Sustainable Development (CAGPDS) has a great deal of experience in the coordination of LIFE projects. The adaptive management of forest environments, along with actions and measures related to the adaptation to climate change, are a key part of the Ministry’s activities and identity. Specifically, the actions of the LIFE Adaptamed project will be coordinated by the Directorate General for the Management of the Natural Environment and Natural Areas, the Andalusian Environmental Information Network, the protected natural areas of Doñana and the Sierra Nevada and the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park. As well as being responsible for the coordination and general management of the LIFE Adaptamed project, the CAGPDS has a number of key additional responsibilities: for example, the implementation of the bulk of the main actions, including the development of the geographic information system to support the large volumes of information generated in the different locations.
ASSOCIATED BENEFICIARIES
The Andalusian Environment and Water Agency is a public enterprise agency that forms part of the CAGPDS. It provides essential services in areas related to the environment and water in Andalusia, particularly within the context of a declaration of an emergency. The Andalusian Environment and Water Agency boasts extensive experience in the management of LIFE projects. The agency plays a decidedly cross-cutting role in the LIFE Adaptamed project, with responsibilities including technical and financial coordination, implementation of actions in the field, evaluation of the effectiveness of such actions, and the drafting of plans related to forestry activities.
The Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) is the largest public scientific organisation in Spain and the third-largest in Europe. It has around 130 centres distributed across Spain and provides scientific services to the entirety of the scientific community through a series of singular science and technology facilities. One such example is the Doñana Biological Reserve, which manages the Doñana Biological Station (EBD-CSIC). The latter is one of the 26 CSIC research institutes dedicated to the subject of natural resources. The research conducted at the EBD-CSIC has a multi-disciplinary approach that encompasses natural history, evolution, ecology, systematics, biogeography, genetics, and the biology of the conservation of organisms in their habitats. The role played by the EBD-CSIC in this project consists of the provision of scientific support to the actions implemented in the Doñana natural area. Its responsibilities include designing the activities to be carried out, field monitoring, and the provision of scientific advice at multiple levels.
The University of Almería is taking part in the LIFE Adaptamed project through the Andalusian Centre for Monitoring and Evaluating Global Change (CAESCG). The CAESCG fosters interaction among professionals from the university, business and environmental fields and, with the assistance of other environmental research institutes and centres, makes it possible to generate, design and coordinate the projects referred to in Axis 2 of the Climate Action Plan with regard to the identification, monitoring and evaluation of the vulnerability and capacity for adaptation to global change on the part of species, ecosystems and ecological processes in semi-arid environments. With specific regard to the LIFE Adaptamed project, the role of the CAESCG is to provide scientific support to all of the project actions that take place in the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park. At the same time, it also plays a leading role in the action that enables the monitoring of the main project actions at the landscape scale: namely, the use of unmanned aerial vehicles and satellite-based remote sensors.
The University of Granada is taking part in the LIFE Adaptamed project through the Andalusian Centre for the Environment (CEAMA), which in turn forms part of the Andalusian Inter-University Institute for Earth Systems Research (IISTA). Both CEAMA and IISTA have notable experience in the design and implementation of programmes to monitor the impacts of global change in the Mediterranean region. The University of Granada’s research groups have an outstanding capacity for analysis and simulation, which ensures the correct execution of the tasks of scientific coordination and monitoring of the management evaluations that form part of this project. With specific regard to the LIFE Adaptamed project, the role of the University of Granada is to provide scientific support for the advisory process, implementation and monitoring of the management actions that are implemented in the Sierra Nevada National Park and Natural Park. Additionally, the University is also responsible for coordinating all of the scientific activity that results from the LIFE Adaptamed project.
The Andalusian Science Park, which is based in Granada, is an international benchmark for the divulgation of scientific, cultural and environmental information. With regard to the LIFE Adaptamed project, the Science Park plays a vital role in the dissemination and communication of the project actions. More specifically, it is responsible for organising the “Window on Science”, a travelling micro-exhibition and a series of meetings with the project’s scientists and technical personnel. These three activities will help to broadcast and amplify the Adaptamed philosophy among a target audience comprising a wide range of social profiles.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is one of the world’s leading organisations in the field of environmental conservation. It is taking part in the LIFE Adaptamed project through its Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation: a veritable benchmark for conservation in the Mediterranean basin that works with managers, NGOs and research institutes on both shores of this remarkable biodiversity hotspot. The role of IUCN-Med in this project is to lead the actions related to the communication and dissemination of information related to the project. It also leads the actions to improve governance and divulgation at the local level.