Summer course seeks to analyze legal and practical aspects in declaring wetlands

Within the framework of the Regional Public Policy for the Conservation of Biodiversity 2022-2035 and Law No. 21,202 on Urban Wetlands of the Ministry of the Environment, UdeC+Sustentable together with the Seremi de Medio Ambiente, the Faculty of Environmental Sciences UdeC , the Eula Center, the GEF Coastal Wetlands Project and the UCO Sustainable Communities project, from VRIM UdeC, organized the course Biodiversity and Wetlands: legal and practical aspects, which is carried out in the context of the Summer School 2023 Voices, imaginaries and territoriesfrom the University of Concepción.

The objective of the course, aimed at municipal officials and civil society actors with an interest in conservation, is to raise awareness of the importance of coastal wetlands, their biodiversity, the threats they face, and the ecosystem services they provide to people.

Considering that the Biodiversity Policy promotes the search for strategic partners, as well as the generation of capacities and knowledge in this areaand taking into account the high expectation generated by the call, this course is the first to be carried out in this alliance, planning others oriented to different areas of biodiversity: restoration, ecological infrastructure, threatened species, exotic species, protected areas, among others.

This is how the coordinator of UdeC+SustainableAlejandro Tudela Román, who highlights this collaboration between the Seremi del Medio Ambiente of the Biobío Region and the University of Concepción and points out that “the implementation of the Delimitation and Characterization Guide for Urban Wetlands in Chile motivated this course, since it is It is necessary that different agents involved in the decision-making process of the declaration of wetlands know legal, biological, ecological and practical aspects of this process”.

For this reason, it values ​​the realization of this course that seeks that attendees, both from the public and private sectors, “acquire theoretical and practical knowledge associated with the declaration of wetlands, so that in the performance of their work activities they can make duly informed decisions” .

Something similar points out the environment seremi, Oscar Reicher Salazar, who highlights the importance of strengthening existing human capacities in the regioninterested in environmental issues, and emphasizes the role of municipal officials who work preparing the files for the delimitations of urban wetlands distributed in the commune.

“With this joint initiative between the Seremi and the UdeC, we seek to expand knowledge in these matters, considering that today, one of the most relevant concerns of citizens is related to the protection of biodiversity in our wetlands”, holds.

On the other hand, Reicher highlights the relationship that both institutions have established for years, which, he says, are relevant actors for regional environmental management: “The Seremi, which must attend to the policies that arise from the Ministry of the Environment and the University de Concepción, which has contributed to the knowledge and diversification of this for the protection of biodiversity and to know the functioning of our ecosystems and the relevance that exists to be able to give them due protection. In this way, a fruitful and profitable relationship is established that we are interested in continuing ”, he points out.

three sessions

The course will be held on Wednesday the 18th, Thursday the 19th and Friday the 20th of January, in the auditorium of the Faculty of Agronomy on the Concepción Campus, and includes a field trip on Thursday.

The topics that will be covered will be: Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in coastal wetlandswhere it will seek to know the importance of coastal wetlands, their biodiversity, the threats they face and the ecosystem services they provide to people; Regional Biodiversity Policy and Urban Wetlands Lawwhich seeks to apply the criteria for the delimitation of urban wetlands, and Legislation, Wetlands and State Attributions, in order to know the State’s attributions and competences in matters of control of illegal actions that negatively affect wetlands.

All the sessions will be given by researchers from the Eula Center and the Faculty of Environmental Sciences, as well as professionals from the Seremi del Medio Ambiente.