The meeting took place at the office of the Montseny Natural Park and Biosphere Reserve, included in the Natura 2000 Network. It was a working table on "Emerging diseases in amphibians: guidelines and biosafety guidelines for educational activities in the Montseny aquatic environment".

The aim of the meeting was to present and discuss the first proposal for a manual of good environmental practices in the discovery of amphibians in their environment, with experts in the field of environmental education.

 

Programme of the conference:
17 h Description of the problem of emerging diseases in amphibians and adoption of biosecurity measures.
17.15 h Presentation of the draft of the Manual of good environmental practices in the discovery of amphibians in their environment.
18 h Discussion and proposals in relation to the draft manual of good environmental practices in the discovery of amphibians in their environment.

 

In Daniel Fernández (Escola de Natura de Parets del Vallès) and Albert Albert Montori (Universitat de Barcelona) presented the proposal for the new manual of good practices and explained the current problems in reference to the appearance of new emerging diseases in amphibians.

 

The meeting was attended by 18 people, most of them responsible for carrying out environmental education activities in the Montseny area, and several important issues were debated: How to prepare the mixture with Virkon (disinfecting); How to treat the Virkon that has been used?; How to use the footbath? Obtaining the amphibian manipulation permit; Changes in the environmental education activities carried out so far; How to reduce the risks of contagion between rafts; Type of material used, etc.

This meeting was the first to propose a change in the format of environmental education activities, taking into account new emerging diseases. A new session is proposed for July in order to reach a consensus and close the manual.