University cooperation and biodiversity conservation: perspectives in Ibero-America. There is an increasing involvement of the Spanish universities in projects related to cooperation and development

Abstract

University cooperation and biodiversity conservation: perspectives in Ibero-America.

There is an increasing involvement of the Spanish  universities  in  projects  related  to cooperation  and  development. To  achieve  significant  results  the  Spanish  Council  of  Rectors considers  that  this  cooperation  must  be  developed  according  to  four  principles:  temporal  continuity,  complementary  skills  of  participants,

economical viability of projects and shared responsibility of the involved institutions. According to this view, this paper deals on the interest of considering the conservation of biodiversity as a relevant topic of these projects and, more specifically, on the role of Ibero-America as a proper  ground  to  work  in  this  topic.  This  is  a  very  important  region  for  conservation  that,  however,  is  suffering  strong  environmental
changes. Fortunately, the region has very good universities and professionals to share projects designed to improve conservation in the most endangered areas. This may be an opportune contribution of the Spanish universities if we have into account that Ibero-America is a key region in the worldwide battle to conserve biodiversity.