Award for Wise Use 2018

Fundación Global Nature, Spain

The restoration and conservation of wetlands has from the outset been the main action for the Fundación Global Nature. In its early days it took steps to restore the La Nava Lagoon, a 2,200 hectare steppe lagoon that was drained in 1968. The recovery of the La Nava Lagoon is one of the most important milestones in the history of Spanish conservation work.

The Fundación has worked on over 100 Spanish wetlands, 8 of which are of international importance and designated as Ramsar Sites. It has further cooperated on international projects for restoration of wetlands in Columbia, Guatemala, the Philippines, Mozambique, Paraguay, the Dominican Republic, Senegal and Sri Lanka. Furthermore through its international networks devoted to the conservation of lakes it has carried out projects in 15 countries.

A total of 14,000 hectares have benefited from its work with an investment of EUR 18 million, which has also contributed to creating jobs in rural areas and shown that the wise use of wetlands is possible.