Between 16 and 19 May 2022, different courses were held for civil servants as part of the regular training programme that takes place every year.

One of the training options revolved around “European Nature Conservation and Sustainable Development Projects”. And within this training cycle, it was essential to give an online seminar on the European projects for the reintroduction and conservation of the Iberian lynx.

On Thursday 19th , for an hour and a half, a brief summary was given of the LIFE Projects that came to the aid of the Iberian lynx and thanks to which the extinction of this emblematic species, endemic to the Iberian Peninsula, was avoided. The seminar was attended by around 100 civil servants from different sectors of the Public Administration: Natural Environment Agents, forestry sector personnel and environmental sector personnel. The talks were given by videoconference by staff from the Regional Ministry for Ecological Transition and Sustainability of the Regional Government of Extremadura.

In addition, the work and actions envisaged by Lynxconnect were explained in detail. The questions asked by the audience in the last minutes of the seminar were very interesting.LIFE LYNXCONNECT in the School of Public Administration of Extremadura.

The LIFE LYNXCONNECT project ‘Creation of a genetically and demographically functional Iberian Lynx (Lynx pardinus) metapopulation (2020-2025)’ is the fourth LIFE project approved by the European Commission for the conservation of the Iberian Lynx.

The main challenge of the LIFE LYNXCONNECT project is to make the Iberian Lynx population self-sustaining and genetically viable in the long term by connecting the six existing core sites in Andalusia, Extremadura, Castilla la Mancha and Portugal, and creating two new core sites. This will help to reduce the risk of extinction of this species. The aim is to achieve a meta-population integration that will guarantee gene flow between all Iberian lynx populations. To this end, different actions will be implemented, with special emphasis on the genetic management of the species to guarantee this flow.

Together with this objective, other specific objectives will be achieved, such as reducing the risk of extinction, improving its population status, combating the threats that affect it, implementing conservation and habitat improvement measures through land stewardship tools and social participation, as well as revising the Iberian lynx conservation strategy.

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