These conferences aim to inform the municipalities and institutions of the Region of Murcia about the different initiatives that are being carried out, within the project, to achieve a litter-free nature.
Promoted by the Federation of Municipalities of the Region of Murcia, SEO/BirdLife and Ecoembes, in collaboration with the General Directorate of Natural Environment of the Region of Murcia and the City Council of San Javier, the 'LIBERA Day, united against litter' has been organized today. An event to inform local governments in the Region of Murcia of the initiatives that work for a nature without litter.
The event was inaugurated by José Miguel Luengo, mayor of San Javier; Fulgencio Perona, general director of Medio Natural; María Dolores Muñoz, president of the Federation of Municipalities of the Region of Murcia and mayor of Bullas; Ángel Hervella, director of local and regional management of Ecoembes; and Miguel López, director of organization at SEO/BirdLife.
The day began by outlining the different ways of collaboration and participation between the municipalities and the LIBERA Project, and various work experiences were seen that have been successful in reducing waste abandoned in the natural environment, both at the municipal level and from the point of view of collaboration with associations. These are the cases of María Dolores Ruiz, Councillor for Municipal Public Services of San Javier, María del Carmen Morales, Mayor of Beniel, Laura Sandoval, Councillor for Development of the City of Alcantarilla, or that of Pedro Enrique Llamas, coordinator of the Scout Group Ciudad del Sol of Lorca.
“ The participation shown by the Region of Murcia in the LIBERA Project over these years demonstrates a citizenry aware of the importance of caring for the natural spaces that surround them. Therefore, continuing to add institutions and associations concerned with eradicating litter is, for the project, one of the driving forces that keeps it alive in every natural area of our country ,” stated Sara Güemes, Ecoembes coordinator for the LIBERA project.
For his part, Miguel Muñoz, coordinator of the SEO/BirdLife LIBERA project, pointed out that “ The commitment of local stakeholders to achieve changes that favor the conservation of our natural heritage is essential. Society is increasingly aware of how litter affects nature, from a visual point of view, and above all, the health of ecosystems and consequently our own. We need to maintain spaces free of waste and pollutants .”
A region highlighted for its collaboration with LIBERA
The Region of Murcia has always been one of the communities most committed to the LIBERA Project. Thus, there is a strong collaboration with the entire network of protected natural areas in the Region of Murcia managed through the General Directorate of Natural Environment, with the aim of working on the prevention of litter in these environments, and especially in four protected natural areas such as the Calblanque Regional Park, the Fauna Recovery Centre – El Valle, the Sierra Espuña Regional Park and the ZEC Fuente Caputa.
According to Fulgencio Perona, Director General of Natural Environment, " Working through partnerships in collaboration with the region's parks is fundamental to conserving the environment ."
On the other hand, four municipalities in the region have joined the #MiPuebloSinBasuraleza initiative, an action that aims to accompany and guide the local administrations of Abanilla, Blanca, Ricote and Santomera to achieve an environment free of litter, always through awareness, education, knowledge and citizen participation. It is also worth highlighting the alliance that the LIBERA Project has forged with a local group, the Association of Naturalists of the Southeast (ANSE).
“All administrations must do everything in their power to meet challenges such as the one proposed by LIBERA to join forces against litter,” commented José Manuel Luengo, mayor of San Javier. Something that María Dolores Muñoz, president of the Federation of Municipalities of the Region of Murcia and mayor of Bullas, agrees with: “The abandonment of waste is one of the most serious problems at first sight, and it has devastating consequences. Therefore, the role of local governments is vital, to change habits, educate and train in respect for our environment.”
Furthermore, the collaboration shown by Murcian citizens since the beginning of the LIBERA Project has been exemplary, as nearly 2.700 people have participated in the different citizen science campaigns organized since 2017, collecting litter and characterizing waste from a total of 199 points in the region, including places of great value such as the El Valle and Carrascoy Regional Park or the banks of the Segura River.
About LIBERA
'LIBERA' is a project created by SEO/BirdLife in partnership with Ecoembes. Its objective is to raise awareness and mobilise citizens to keep natural spaces free of litter. To this end, LIBERA proposes solutions around the axes of knowledge, prevention and participation to minimise its environmental impact. With these actions it works to contribute to the achievement of SDGs 4, 13, 14, 15 and 17.
Since its launch, LIBERA has mobilised more than 72.000 volunteers* and collaborated with more than 1100 organisations and groups, including the CSIC, the Reina Sofía Foundation, the DGT, Paisaje Limpio and Vertidos Cero, becoming a pioneering project that seeks to raise awareness among all audiences. In addition, through the Litter and MARNOBA apps, the Heroes have collected and characterised nearly 300.000 objects from more than 2.700 points throughout the country, which have been integrated into the MITECO database.
More information at www.proyectolibera.org
SEO/BirdLife (seo.org) is the oldest environmental organisation in Spain, with more than 60 years of history. With birds as its flagship, an indicator recognised by Eurostat to measure the health of the environment, this NGO declared to be of public interest works to guarantee the conservation of biodiversity, promote environmental education and generate scientific knowledge through its citizen science programmes, which mobilise more than 9000 volunteers each year, making SEO/BirdLife the Spanish environmental organisation with the largest number of collaborators.
About Ecoembes
Ecoembes is the non-profit environmental organization that coordinates the recycling of plastic containers, cans and cartons (yellow container) and cardboard and paper packaging (blue container) in Spain.
In 2020, 1.490.283 tons of household packaging were delivered to recycling facilities from yellow and blue containers on the street, from selective collections in high-traffic places and from municipal waste plants. Thanks to this, numerous environmental benefits were obtained, such as avoiding the emission of 1,67 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere or saving 20,29 million m3 of water and 6,37 million Mwh of energy.
For more information:
Romain Titaud / Rosa Santiago / Teresa Sarria
rtitaud@atrevia.com / rsantiago@atrevia.com / tsarria@atrevia.com
Tel. 667 63 25 19 / 673 33 97 24 / 667 63 34 50
Olympia Garcia press@seo.org
Tel. 91434 09 10 – 699 983670
@seo_birdlife / seo.org
