National Parks of Spain

La superficie marina de España supera el millón de kilómetros cuadrados, el doble que la tierra emergida.

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Overview

The Spanish sea surface covers an area of more than one million square kilometres, twice as much as the area of land above water. But in spite of its extraordinary ecological value, the submerged natural heritage barely makes up 4.1% of the network of national parks.

 

According to the Law on National Parks, a total of 13 natural marine systems should be represented in the network to ensure an adequate legacy for future generations. However, although 2016 was the one hundredth anniversary of the establishment of the network, some of these systems are still under-represented, while others are totally absent from the network, such as the “areas of passage and importance for cetaceans”.

For these reasons, Oceana considers it necessary for the Network of National Parks to increase the marine protected area through the following measures:

  • Extension of the Maritime-Terrestrial National Park of the Cabrera Archipelago (Balearic Islands)
  • Declaration of the first marine park exclusively in Atlantic waters in El Hierro (Canary Islands)
  • Extension of the Doñana National Park (Andalusia)
  • Extension of the National Park of the Atlantic Islands (Galicia)
  • Declaration of the first exclusively marine National Park in Mediterranean waters in the seamounts of the Channel of Mallorca (Balearic Islands)