The PSOE has expressed to the Association of Agents for the Protection of Nature of Aragon (APN) its firm commitment to "reinforce and dignify" the role of this group in the Community.
The deputies of the socialist parliamentary group in the Cortes of Aragon, Carlos Ros and Pedro Polo, have held a working meeting with the president of the association, José Manuel Matute, which has served to open "a permanent line of communication" in order to advance this purpose.
The meeting, valued as "very positive" by both parties, has allowed for an analysis of the current situation of the APNs, to learn first-hand about their main demands, and to establish a stable dynamic of collaboration between the socialist group and the Association, with the aim of continuing to promote improvements that reinforce this key public service for Aragon and grant them "the institutional and social recognition they deserve".
During the meeting, the socialist representatives underlined the broad agreement with a good part of the proposals defended by the group and emphasized their willingness to maintain continuous contact to learn about their needs and transfer them to parliamentary debate.
From the PSOE they have pointed out that one of the central axes of this new stage of joint work will be "to dignify the figure of the Agent for the Protection of Nature and to highlight the strategic role it plays in the protection of the natural and rural environment of Aragon".
The deputy Carlos Ros, socialist spokesperson in the Commission for the Environment in the Cortes of Aragon, has insisted that "the Agents for the Protection of Nature are one of the great strategic assets that Aragon has".
"Their knowledge of the territory, their proximity to the rural environment, and the enormous responsibility they assume every day make it essential to recognize and strengthen a profession essential for our community. With this permanent line of work, we want to contribute to them occupying the place they deserve within the Aragonese Administration," he remarked.
The meeting also analyzed the situation of the staff during the peak risk campaign for forest fires. The PSOE has expressed its concern about "the lack of planning by the Government of Aragon" in the face of anticipated early retirements and the selection processes "that would allow for the replacement of personnel before the summer".
They demand "stability" and reinforcements for the APNs
The socialists consider that this lack of foresight "is causing a significant overload of work and on-call duties among the APNs, precisely at a particularly delicate moment, marked by high temperatures and a high risk of forest fires, after several large fires have already been registered in Aragon".
Along these lines, Carlos Ros has stressed that "it is essential to provide this service with the stability and human resources it needs". He has criticized that those who assume a responsibility "so important for the protection of our natural heritage" have to face each summer "with strained staff due to a lack of planning that was perfectly foreseeable. Fire prevention also begins with adequate human resource planning".
Currently, nearly 360 Agents for the Protection of Nature spread throughout Aragon carry out essential tasks for the Autonomous Community. In addition to monitoring and managing the natural environment, they participate in the prevention and extinction of forest fires, act as judicial police in environmental matters, collaborate in the fight against diseases such as avian flu or swine fever, and have played a decisive role in exceptional situations such as the covid 19 pandemic.