Temática: Protected Areas

Priority natural habitat types

EU habitats threatened with extinction, the conservation of which represents a special responsibility for the Community due to the proportion of their natural distribution area within the territory.

ZEC (Special Conservation Zone)

It is an SCI designated by Member States through a regulatory, administrative and/or contractual act, in which the necessary conservation measures are applied for the maintenance or restoration, in a favorable conservation status, of natural habitats and/or species.

ZEPA (Special Protection Areas for Birds)

Special Protection Areas for Birds (SPAs) are a portion of territory necessary to preserve, maintain or restore sufficient diversity and habitat area for all bird species listed in Annex I of the Birds Directive 2009/147/EC of 30 November 2009 on the conservation of birds […]

ZEPIM

Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance. These are a group of coastal and marine areas that host specific ecosystems or habitats of endangered species. These areas are protected, ensuring the conservation of the components of biological diversity in the Mediterranean and are of special scientific, aesthetic, cultural, or educational interest.

Types of natural habitats of community interest

These are those that are threatened with extinction in their natural distribution area or their area is reduced due to their regression or they constitute representative examples of typical characteristics of one or more of the five biogeographic regions (Alpine, Atlantic, Continental, Macaronesian and Mediterranean).

Systemic services

These are multiple benefits that nature, through its ecosystems, provides to humanity.

Natura 2000 Network

Network of biodiversity conservation areas in the European Union. It consists of two types of protected areas: Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) established under the Habitats Directive and Special Protection Areas for Birds (SPAs) designated under the Birds Directive. Spain, with more than two thousand sites in […]

Strict nature reserve

These are strictly protected areas set aside to safeguard biodiversity, as well as geographical/geomorphological features, where visits, use, and impacts are strictly controlled and limited to ensure the protection of conservation values. These protected areas can serve as indispensable reference areas for scientific research and […]

Biosphere reserves

They are learning spaces for sustainable development. They are places where interdisciplinary approaches are applied to understand and manage the changes and interactions that occur between social and ecological systems, including conflict prevention and biodiversity management. They are spaces that provide solutions […]

Nature Reserves

They are natural spaces created for the purpose of protecting ecosystems, communities, or biological elements that, due to their rarity, fragility, importance, or uniqueness, deserve special consideration.