The new Mar Menor Monitoring Committee in charge of supervising the evolution of the state of the lagoon – periodically informing the public – is underway.
The committee will be chaired by López Miras, with spokesperson Emilio María Dolores, doctor in Veterinary Medicine and head of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Service of the Ministry of Agriculture and Water.
The inaugural meeting of the new body, which consists politicians, technicians and experts from the universities of Murcia and the Polytechnic of Cartagena, took place at the San Esteban Palace, under the chairmanship of the head of the autonomous.
The constitution of the committee, similar to the one created to monitor the Covid-19 pandemic, was a commitment made by the president of the Community on February 11, during the last visit to the Region of the Minister for Ecological Transition, Theresa Rivera.
One main task will be permanently reporting to society on the state of the Mar Menor, and the measures and actions underway, according to the Ministry of Water and Agriculture.
Emilio María Dolores became the spokesperson for the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Mar Menor in February, replacing the Professor of Ecology at the University of Murcia, Ángel Pérez Ruzafa, who requested his relief to focus on their academic and research work.
María Dolores, associate professor at the Polytechnic of Cartagena, who has monitored the Mar Menor coastal lagoon for over six years, said: “The Ministry maintains that the Community has always worked to offer as much information as possible on the protection and recovery of the Mar Menor, monthly, with the Inter-administrative Coordination Forum or with the Canal Mar Menor website.
“Now it intends to reinforce the informative work with this new body.”
The meetings, to analyse the situation of the Mar Menor and report on its status, will take place every 15 days according to sources from the autonomous Executive.
The committee will have 13 members, six belonging to the regional government, including the president, the Minister of Agriculture and four general directors, four scientists – two from each of the public universities in the Region – and three technicians.
Among the scientists are Pérez Ruzafa and Alejandro Pérez Pastor, Professor of Agricultural Engineering at the UPCT.
On the technical side, in addition to Emilio María Dolores, the head of the Natura 2000 Network Conservation Service and Manuel Erena, from the Murcian Institute of Agricultural Research and Development, will also attend meetings.
