“From Red to Green: Loro Parque Fundación protecting world’s biodiversity” is an exhibition whose main objective is to highlight the joint efforts of Loro Parque Fundación and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in the protection of biodiversity in the Macaronesia. This region, recognized as home to the greatest variety of animal and plant species in Europe, has become a crucial point for the conservation and preservation of our precious natural heritage.

This exhibition will serve as a framework to present two initiaives to the parliament being both of them essential for the protection of the biodiversity in the Macaronesia. First, we will highlight the Macaronesia Marine Biodiversity Sanctuary, an ambitious initiative that seeks to establish a protected area that safeguards the region’s unique marine ecosystems. This proposal, supported by Loro Parque Foundation, aims to preserve and restore the health of the oceans by promoting the conservation of marine species and the sustainability of marine resources. Secondly, we will focus on the proposal to extend the anti-submarine SONAR moratorium. Being aware of the negative impacts that this technology can have on marine mammals and biodiversity in general, Loro Parque Fundaciónn advocates for the extension of the moratorium currently in place in order to guarantee the protection and well-being of vulnerable marine species.

The exhibition will also seek to find synergies between the European biodiversity strategy and the conservation work of European zoos and aquariums and it will be available from the 23th until the 27th of October at Altiero SPINELLI Floor 3 SPINELLI Distribution Centre Area – 3D.

The side events will be:

PARALLEL EVENT I: Guardians of the Deep: Towards the declaration of a Marine Biodiversity Sanctuary in Macaronesia

European Parliament Tuesday 24 from 10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.

LOCATION: Room A5-E3

This side event aims to make visible the importance of promoting a Marine Biodiversity Sanctuary in Macaronesia, taking advantage of the recent approval by the UN of an agreement for the conservation of biodiversity and the sustainable use of marine resources outside jurisdictional waters (in international waters). In October the European Parliament will surely be discussing the accession to this High Seas treaty, or will have approved it, so it will be a good time to discuss initiatives to implement it.

PARALLEL EVENT II: Echoes of protection: Extending the Military Sonar Moratorium to Macaronesia

European Parliament Wednesday 25th from 16:00 to 18:00

LOCATION: Room A5F385

The aim for this side event will be to make visible the LPF proposal to extend to the whole Macaronesia the current moratorium on the use of active medium frequency SONAR, currently set at 50 nautical miles from the Canary Islands. Both the non-binding declaration of the European Parliament in 2004 and the motion approved by the IUCN World Congress in 2020 would be highlighted.

PARALLEL EVENT III: Preserving Biodiversity: Zoos as Catalysts for the European Biodiversity Strategy 2030

European Parliament Thursday 26 from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m.

LOCATION: Room A5F385

This event will serve to make visible in the European Parliament the role played by zoos and aquariums as tools for biodiversity conservation, associating it with a very important policy for Europe, which is the European Biodiversity Strategy 2030.

We sincerely await for your support and participation in this crucial event, where we can share knowledge, exchange ideas and promote effective measures to preserve our valuable natural heritage. If you would like to join any of the side events, please register here (registrations will close on October 8th).