Ihobe, the Basque Government's Public Environmental Management Company, presented the work that the Basque Country has been carrying out in recent years to foster climate action across the board and, specifically, in the field of natural heritage conservation, during the EUROPARC Federation’s European Conference, held in Argelès-sur-Mer (France) from 5th to 7th October.

Under the title "Climate Change, Resilient Parks!", this year's European EUROPARC Federation’s European Conference has highlighted the work carried out by the different members of the federation to promote the adaptation of protected areas, and has offered an opportunity to exchange experiences. Ainhize Butrón, biologist with a PhD in Ecology and technician in the Climate Action area at Ihobe, was one of the specialists taking part in this conference to share the progress made in the Basque Country to foster climate action.

The EUROPARC Federation’s European Conference is the largest European meeting place for professionals working in protected areas. The 250 participants from more than 38 European countries included managers of protected areas, associations of landowners who manage the natural environment (farmers, foresters, etc.), networks or groups of various protected areas, regional and national representatives in charge of biodiversity conservation and researchers.

The Basque Country participated in two different sessions to present the tools it has developed to integrate climate action into natural heritage management, presented on 30th September in Vitoria-Gasteiz; strategic planning in the field of climate change, such as the Plan for Energy Transition and Climate Change 2021-2024, regulations (Article 9 on climate change in Law 9/2021, of 25th November, on the conservation of the natural heritage of the Basque Country) and work on nature-based solutions, such as the manual for the diagnosis of the potential of nature-based solutions, projects promoted and pilot actions of LIFE IP Urban Klima 2050.

With "Integrating climate action and biodiversity conservation at a regional level" Ihobe has taken this opportunity to highlight that it is possible to address climate action in natural heritage and protected areas at a regional and local level, and hence inspire other actors, mainly members of the EUROPARC Federation who manage more than one site, a network of sites or belong to different local, regional or national administrations, to act and promote the resilience of protected areas and the whole territory from a holistic point of view.

EUROPARC Europe

The EUROPARC Federation is the network for Europe's natural and cultural heritage, and works to improve the management of Protected Areas in Europe through international cooperation, exchange of ideas and experiences and influencing policy.

As the representative body for Europe's protected areas, EUROPARC is the collective voice of all natural and landscape areas. Beyond the regular meetings of this forum, it focuses on nature conservation and the sustainable development of Europe's biodiversity, promoting holistic approaches to landscape management.