Acknowledgement of the Iberian lynx reintroduction project after being elected as the best project in the 25 years of the Life Program

A sculpture created by Chiqui Díaz will serve as tribute to all Andalusians who allowed the Iberian lynx to re-claim these lands

The Regional Government of Andalusia acknowledges the work of the 'Conservation and reintroduction of the Iberian lynx in Andalusia' project while celebrating in the capital of Seville, along with the current Life+Iberlince project team (2011-2018); an acknowledgement of the European Commission award for Best LIFE Project – in the Nature and Biodiversity category – in Life Program’s 25 years of existence (1992-2017). A distinction this project achieved with the support of European citizens, who voted for the Life 'Andalusian Lynx Reintroduction' on social networks.

Thanks to this project, the second Life carried out by the Ministry of Environment and Territorial Planning in its commitment to the conservation of the Iberian lynx, this feline went from a critically endangered species to an 'endangered species' (according to IUCN listing, the international organization that catalogues the different species’ threat levels), thus fulfilling the project’s essential goal.

In relation to 2002, the Iberian lynx population in Andalusia tripled, reaching 310 specimens, 131 of which were mature specimens, and positive results were reached ahead of schedule, namely reintroductions, which launched in two areas at the same time. By the end of the project, in 2011, there were already two incipient Iberian lynx populations in those areas.

During the acknowledgement ceremony, presided by vice-president Manuel Jiménez Barrios, there were interventions by Life+Iberlince project director Miguel Ángel Simón, who highlighted the achievements pertaining to the Iberian lynx conservation in the Peninsula, and Maria Jesús Gualda, the co-owner of the ' El Añadío' property (located in Vilches, Jaén), one of the first Vilches landowners who participated in the feline conservation project, by signing the first cooperation agreement in 2009.

Following the interventions, the Minister of Environment and Territorial Planning, José Fiscal, proceeded to uncover an Iberian lynx sculpture, created by sculptor Chiqui Diaz, placed in an emblematic site as tribute to all Andalusians who allowed the Iberian lynx to re-claim these lands.