National Parks Networks

The basic objective of any National Park is to ensure the conservation of its natural values. It is therefore a form of protection that entails a special legal regime to ensure this conservation. Consequently, not everything is suitable for a National Park, nor is it convenient to think that everything can be declared a National Park. On the contrary, National Parks are unique, rare and, of course, infrequent. They are places where “non-intervention” prevails and where the principle is to allow the free flow of natural processes.

The second objective of the National Parks Network is to make conservation compatible with the use and enjoyment by citizens of the natural values contained in the parks.

Thirdly, the National Parks are at the service of research and the increase of scientific knowledge.

Consistent with the above, National Parks can be a driving force for the economic development of the areas in which they are located, offering an alternative range of uses that are different and consistent with a quality of life model that is increasingly committed to nature conservation.

A National Park is a natural space of high natural and cultural value, little altered by human activity which, due to its exceptional natural values, its representative character, the uniqueness of its flora, fauna or geomorphological formations, deserves preferential conservation attention and is declared of general interest to the Nation because it is representative of Spain’s natural heritage.

For a territory to be declared a National Park, it must be representative of its natural system, have a large and sufficient surface area to allow for natural evolution and ecological processes, be largely dominated by natural conditions, present little intervention on its natural values, have territorial continuity, not have inhabited nuclei in its interior, and be surrounded by a territory susceptible of being declared a peripheral protection zone.

Characteristics of National Parks

A National Park is a natural space of high natural and cultural value, little altered by human activity which, due to its exceptional natural values, its representative character, the uniqueness of its flora, fauna or geomorphological formations, deserves preferential conservation attention and is declared of general interest to the Nation because it is representative of Spain’s natural heritage.

For a territory to be declared a National Park, it must be representative of its natural system, have a large and sufficient surface area to allow for natural evolution and ecological processes, be largely dominated by natural conditions, present little intervention on its natural values, have territorial continuity, not have inhabited nuclei in its interior, and be surrounded by a territory susceptible of being declared a peripheral protection zone.

In order for an area to be declared a National Park and, according to the Master Plan of the National Parks Network, it must meet the following characteristics:

• Representation: to represent the natural system to which it belongs.
• Extent: it must be large enough to allow for its natural evolution, so as to maintain its characteristics and ensure the functioning of ecological processes in the present.
• Conservation status: the conditions of naturalness and ecological functionality should prevail to a large extent. Human intervention on their values should be limited.
• Territorial continuity: except for duly justified exceptions, the territory must be continuous, without enclaves, and there must be no elements of fragmentation that break the harmony of the ecosystems.
• Human settlements: not to include inhabited urban centres within it, except in duly justified exceptional cases.
• External protection: to be surrounded by a territory that can be declared as a peripheral protection area.