Seminar "Genetic diversity and conservation of the yew (Taxus baccata) in the Iberian Peninsula

The LIFE BACCATA project aims to improve the conservation status of the 9580* habitat in 15 SACs in the Cantabrian Mountains, acting on the indicators of the conservation status of the habitat: area of occupation, structure and functions and future prospects. To address the latter, the project aims to tackle one of the conservation problems of the 9580* habitat, namely the loss of genetic variability of the yew, through a series of ex-situ and in-situ conservation measures developed in action C6: DNA conservation, germplasm bank, creation of arboretums, establishment of forest genetic conservation units, genotyping of populations in the North of the Iberian Peninsula.

The networking seminar of the LIFE BACCATA project on the genetic diversity and conservation of the yew (Taxus baccata) in the Iberian Peninsula was held on 27 May. The seminar served as a system for disseminating the information generated by the LIFE BACCATA project on the genetic diversity and structure of the yew populations in the North of the Iberian Peninsula, as well as the results of the bidirectional exchange (networking) of information carried out during its execution with other LIFE projects, research centres and competent bodies in the field. In this way, the seminar has allowed the transfer of the results of LIFE BACCATA to other national and international organisations, and therefore its application in other territories or situations, thus contributing to the replicability of the project.

The seminar was attended by 63 participants, from administrations responsible for Natura 2000 and forest management in Spain and Portugal, environmental NGOs, nurseries and forest associations, universities, research centres and ministerial bodies related to the subject, local entities and even individuals. The LIFE BACCATA team has been very satisfied with the participation, we believe that the event has aroused the interest of the audience, probably because of the quality of the speakers and the topics presented.