The First Iberian Symposium on the Conservation of Spring Ecosystems (SICEF) is organized by the Catalan Society of Sciences for Biodiversity Conservation (BioSciCat) in collaboration with the Fundació Catalunya – La Pedrera, and is supported by the Ministry for Ecological Transition through the Biodiversity Foundation, as well as the Catalan Water Agency and the Government of Catalonia. SICEF19 is part of BioSciCat's Natural Springs Program. Read more

Natural springs have recently emerged as the richest biodiversity hotspots in the Mediterranean ecosystem. Water is everything here, in the Mediterranean landscape. And for our species as well. For this reason, springs also constitute a unique and essential space for humankind, such that our relationship with them has given rise to a cultural expression of exceptional richness. On the other hand, although the fate of a large portion of Iberian biodiversity seems to depend on them, it is clear that they are an extraordinarily fragile and vulnerable habitat: the continuity of the hydrological upwellings that make these natural springs possible and ecologically and biologically drive them could be seriously threatened by the effects of climate change. Similarly, other pressures, such as the overexploitation and pollution of the aquifers on which they depend, have a concomitant effect on the disappearance and degradation of the habitat. As if that weren't enough, the scarcity of its surface representation on a territorial scale (minimal from a quantitative point of view) and its more than evident physical fragility are factors that underscore its vulnerability. The truth is that the number of known cases of disappearing natural springs is increasing, and the collapse of entire spring systems is frequently documented. Nothing is known about the rate at which this habitat is being lost and the biological and ecological cost it may entail. Inexplicably, despite the ecological and biological importance and the apparent vulnerability of this habitat, for various reasons it has been effectively excluded from the protection of the European strategy for the conservation of nature and biodiversity, articulated primarily through the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), the Birds Directive (79/409/EEC), and the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC). Despite their importance and vulnerability, natural springs remain one of the most unexplored and biologically unknown habitats. Virtually no studies have been conducted to understand their ecology and the functions they perform at the ecosystem level. Finally, there is a lack of experience and the necessary knowledge to undertake the full and comprehensive ecological restoration of springs or spring systems. As a result, it is clear that the conservation of spring ecosystems must become a top priority and a matter of utmost urgency. To achieve this, it will be necessary to raise awareness, educate, and decisively involve public administrations, the scientific community, managers and technicians, and all stakeholders, including conservation organizations and landowners. In a way, this is the primary objective of the First Iberian Symposium on the Conservation of Spring Ecosystems (SICEF). Its impetus stems from the need to create an Iberian-wide forum that brings together all the experts, stakeholders, and administrations involved in the conservation of natural springs, and within which advances in the study and understanding, restoration, and management of Mediterranean spring systems can be presented. It should also be consolidated as a forum for debate from which to promote habitat conservation strategies at all territorial levels and scales. The positive reliefs of the main mountain ranges harbor the most important and best-preserved spring systems in Mediterranean Iberia. These areas are mostly integrated within protected natural spaces, under different legal frameworks. It is clear that the existence of these spaces represents a prime opportunity to implement urgent and direct improvements in habitat conservation. This is precisely why this first symposium will focus its debate specifically on the role that Mediterranean protected natural spaces should play in the conservation of spring ecosystems.

The Symposium invites the participation of public administrations and agencies, research centers, and entities involved in the legal protection and planning of the water cycle, biodiversity, and cultural heritage, and specifically: 1 - Officials and technicians from state public administrations (Directorate General for Water, river basin authorities, Directorate General for Biodiversity and Environmental Quality) and regional or autonomous communities (water agencies and central services responsible for biodiversity). 2 - Officials and technicians from central services for the planning of natural areas, as well as from bodies managing natural areas (conservation, public use, etc.), to whom SICEF19 is specifically addressed. 3 - Environmental technicians from local government (provincial, regional, and municipal). 4 - Scientists working in the fields of climate change, hydrogeology, river ecology, and aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity. 5 - Specialists, scholars, and researchers in the field of cultural, ethnographic, and architectural heritage related to water sources. 6 - Environmental and cultural entities. 7 - Owners of natural resources and other stakeholders.