It is of utmost urgency to have a strategy to conserve Mediterranean natural springs. This is probably one of the highest priority and most complex conservation challenges faced by the European states of the Mediterranean arc.
Natural springs are the habitats that harbor the highest rates of biological richness in our ecosystems. They make up authentic micro-worlds in which one of the greatest treasures of our nature is secretly hidden. They are, in fact, the oases of the Mediterranean landscape. However, they are also the most fragile and unprotected habitats of our ecosystems, and also, as incomprehensible as it may seem, they are the most unexplored terrestrial environments by science. The shadow of climate change hangs over them, threatening the future of all the irreplaceable biological wealth they shelter.
This worrying scenario gave rise to the BioSciCat NATURAL SPRINGS PROGRAM, which has been expanded since last July, reinforcing all its lines of action with new actions, something that has been made possible thanks to the support of the Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica a through the Fundación Biodiversidad.
Among other initiatives, the Natural Springs Program has launched a package of measures for the 2018-19 cycle aimed at strengthening scientific knowledge (through new studies in Iberian and Balearic natural spaces), communication (thanks to articles and the celebration of the first Iberian-Balearic conference on conservation of spring ecosystems), and awareness (documentaries aimed at the general public).
A web page of the 'Natural Springs Program' will be presented shortly, from which all the promoted actions will be disseminated.