The LIFELYNXCONNECT project presented the Distinctions for the conservation of the Iberian lynx on 15 December at the Parador de Lorca (Murcia), with which each year it recognises groups, institutions and individuals whose contribution to the preservation and conservation of the Iberian lynx has been notable.

At the ceremony, presided over by the Regional Minister for the Environment, Universities, Research and the Mar Menor, Juan María Vázquez , the importance of the involvement of institutions and citizens in the conservation of the Iberian lynx was stressed, while he called for the unity of Europeans, because the future, he added, lies in working together.

The winners in this edition, proposed by the LIFE LYNXCONNECT project partners, were the Sociedade CINELOTÃO – Exploração de Atividades Agrícolas e Cinegéticas de Martinlongo, (Portuguese parish of the municipality of Alcoutim) for Portugal, the Asociación Falconatura de Piñar (Granada) for Andalusia, the Red de Centros de Recuperación de Castilla-La Mancha (Castilla-La Mancha Recovery Centres Network) for Castilla-La Mancha. In Murcia, the award went to UPRONA (Nature Protection Unit) of the Guardia Civil and to the Corps of Environmental Agents of the Region of Murcia, and to the Local Society of Hunters of Valdehúncar in Extremadura, and in Murcia the award went to UPRONA (Nature Protection Unit) of the Guardia Civil and to the Corps of Environmental Agents of the Region of Murcia.

To the Sociedade CINELOTÃO for the welcome it has given to the Iberian lynx, where several specimens from the reconstituted population of the Guadiana Valley have been installed, settled and reproduced in its hunting area since 2019. The award was presented by Joao Alves on behalf of the ICNF.

The Falconatura Association, founded in Granada by biologists more than a decade ago, is dedicated to the environmental education of young and old and to fighting for the conservation and sustainability of the environment in Andalusia. For this reason, when they heard about the return of the lynx to their land, they did not hesitate to do their bit with various initiatives. The award was presented by the Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Sustainability, Environment and Blue Economy.

The Network of Recovery Centres of Castilla-La Mancha, for the essential role they play in the surveillance and monitoring of the state of health of wildlife, in the conservation of the most endangered wild species. In Castilla-La Mancha this monitoring is coordinated and carried out through the Network of Wildlife Recovery Centres. And the commitment of the people who make it up is fundamental, the distinction was presented by the Mayor of Lorca, Fulgencio Gil Jódar.

The Valdehúncar Local Hunting Society has been actively collaborating with the Lynxconnect Project since 2019, being the first society involved in the lynx reintroduction project in the province of Cáceres, in the Valdecañas Ibores area. It has been actively involved all these years in the recovery of the wild rabbit and the conservation of the species, as well as being the guarantor with other local hunting societies in the area, demonstrating in the field that hunting and lynx conservation go hand in hand. He received the award from the Director of Sustainability Programmes of the General Directorate of Sustainability of the Junta de Extremadura, María Jesús Palacios.

In the Region of Murcia, two entities received the distinction, UPRONA (Nature Protection Unit) of the Guardia Civil and the Corps of Environmental Agents of the Region of Murcia. In both cases for their commitment and efficiency in the investigation of possible crimes in the protection of the species. It was the councillor Juan María Vázquez, who presented them with the award.

From LIFE LYNXCONNECT, our congratulations to all of them and thank you, without them it would not be possible.