Environmental Advisory Council (CAMA)

Consejo Asesor de Medio Ambiente

Current and Future Activities

Establishment and Mission

Council Members and Staff Members

Working Style

List of Selected Publications 

Current and Future Activities

Present and Future Priority Fields

• Climate change;
• Water policy;
• Prevention of forest fires;
• Marine Biodiversity;
• Law on Natural Patrimony;
• Strategic Instruments for Nature Conservation;
• Strategic Plan of Transport and Infrastructures;
• Waste Policy;
• Environmental Information;
• Strategic Environmental Assessment;
• Air quality;
• Integrated Management in Coastal Zones. 

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Background and Mission

Establishment

The former CAMA was created by means of Royal Decree 224/1994, of 14 February 1994. Ever since, it has undergone different reforms - both legal and organisational - aiming at improving its activities.

The new CAMA is regulated by the Royal Decree 2355/2004, of 23 December 2004, that reshaped its structure and functions and reorganised its composition, competences and work style.

The council also applies to article 19 of the Law 27/2006, of 18 July 2006, regulating the rights of access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters.

The State Council has been created for Natural Heritage and Biodiversity, as organ of public participation in the area of the conservation and the sustainable use of natural heritage and biodiversity, this new Council assumes the functions that before the CAMA had in this matter.

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Mission

The CAMA aims at participating and following up the general policies related to environment and sustainable development. The CAMA is the advisory council not only to the Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs, but also to the whole Government in any issue related to environment and sustainable development.

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Council Members

The multi-stakeholder CAMA has 15 Titular members. The Spanish Local and Provincial Authorities Federation (FEMP) is present at the meetings of the Council with voice but without vote. They are appointed for a two year term that is renewed as long as the organisation they belong to agrees on this..

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Staff Members

The Secretariat is the General Technical Secretariat of the Ministry of Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs, Alicia Camacho García, supported by Victoria Andrés Holgado for her functioning, who is a civil servant in the Ministry.

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Work Style

Tasks of the Council

The Tasks of the Council is to:

• Issue reports on Law and Royal Decree projects that might have an impact on the environment;
• Advice on national plans and programmes when requested by the Council's chair;
• Issue reports and make proposals on environmental issues at its own initiative, or as a result of a request by the different ministries. This prerogative is extended to the regional and local administrations;
• Propose measures aimed at fostering environment-related job creation, the participation of civil society and the promotion of ecologic and environmental values;
• Propose environmental education measures aimed at informing, orienting and making the civil society aware of the ecologic and environmental values;
• Propose any necessary measure for the better implementation of international agreements on environment and sustainable development matters, assess the implementation of any legislation and programmes in place, and proposing the necessary modifications;
• Improve the public-private sector partnerships on environmental issues;
• Foster the cooperation with regional councils in accordance with article 19.2.h of the law 27/2006;
• Convene the Conference of Sustainable Development every two years in order to assess progress on the implementation of the National Sustainable Development Strategy in accordance with Royal Decree 2355/2004, article 9.

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 Substructure and Working Groups

At present, the following Working Groups are active in the CAMA:

• Water policy;
• Strategic Plan of Transport and Infrastructures;
• Marine Biodiversity;
• Prevention of forest fires;
• Environmental Information;
• Law on Natural Patrimony;
• Air quality;
• Waste Policy;
• Strategic Instruments for Nature Conservation;
• Integrated Management in Coastal Zones; 
• Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO:s);
• Strategic Environmental Assessment.

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Council Meetings

There are no fixed dates for the meetings but the CAMA normally meets once every three months.

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Type of Advice

The CAMA issues reports and makes proposals regarding environmental issues following its own initiative or upon request of the different ministries. This prerogative is also applicable to all regional and local administrations.

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Activities in the EEAC Network

The CAMA joined the EEAC 2007.

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List of Selected Publications

The CAMA does not issue advice reports as such but the Council Members make remarks (oral and sometimes in a written manner) from the different subjects under discussion.

• Horizon 2015 - report on the Draft bill of Sustainable Economy (January 2010) 
• Presentation of the results of the Campaign of Identification of the Vulnerable Aquatic ecosystems.(December 2009);
• Opinion on the project of a Royal Decree on Environmental Liability (2008);
• Opinion on the National Strategy for the Conservation of the Iberian Lynx (2008);
• Opinion on the National Sustainable Development Strategy (July 2007);
• Opinion on the project for a Royal Decree approving the Law on Environmental Impact Assessment (March 2007);
• Opinion on National Integrated Waste Programme (March 2007);
• Opinion on the Project  for the Law on Environmental Liability, (October 2006);
• Opinion on the National Plan Allocating Emission Rights, (October 2006);
• Opinion on the Project for a Royal Decree on a Regulation developing the Law 16/2002 of 1 July, on the IPPC, (July 2006);
• Opinion on the Project for a Royal Decree approving the coexistence of GMO crops with conventional and ecologic crops, (July 2006); 
• Opinion on the Project for a Royal Decree on waste water reutilisation, (July 2006);
• Opinion on the Project for a Royal Decree that modifies the Royal Decree 1997/1995 of 7 December, establishing measures to preserve biodiversity through habitat conservation, (July 2006).

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Last update: 29 January 2010