New European law forces Spain to protect 75% of its most valuable habitats from erosion

Spain is the EU country with the most habitats declared of community interest, but at the same time, 75% of them have an unfavorable conservation status. The new nature restoration law, finally approved this Monday, requires that the necessary measures be taken to return them to a “good condition”.

What are the priorities? “The degradation is evident in all bioregions,” explains WWF forest coordinator Diana Colomina, who recalls that restoration means “recovering the functionality of these ecosystems.” It also calls for “objective criteria to decide where to start.” The first objective is to restore 30% of everything that has been destroyed by 2030. “It’s ambitious,” says the environmentalist.

“It’s a very large area,” says Jordi Cortina-Segarra, professor of ecology at the University of Alicante and coordinator in Spain of the Ecological Restoration Society. “Although it is not yet precisely known, we are talking about millions of hectares. Almost the same magnitude as the reforestation plan of 1939-86, which involved about five million hectares,” the biologist calculates.

Degradation

And all that extension must be in good condition. That is, “its structure, functions and characteristic species” can guarantee its long-term maintenance, as established by the standard. An indicator of the relevance of this problem comes from the large percentage of the country that is at risk of desertification, that is, degradation: about 74% of the entire area to which we must add marine ecosystems.

“Of course all habitats declared of community interest will be a priority,” says Cortina-Segarra. On that list, the group of habitats with the worst condition in Spain is forests. At the top of the degradation can be found the beech forests in the south of the peninsula, the chestnut trees – which suffer from the attack of a wasp infestation -, the cork oak forests in the western part – such as those that grow in Cadiz or Huelva – the black mountain pine or the typical pine of the southern Mediterranean, according to a government evaluation sent to the European Commission.

There are eight types of distinct, very damaged ecosystems on the coasts, among which several dune ranges with names and nicknames can be highlighted: Maspalomas (Gran Canaria), Corralejo (Fuerteventura), the sand barrier of Doñana, or the dunes east are some examples. Also brackish reed meadows and, above all, coastal lagoons such as the Mar Menor or the Ebro Delta (a type of habitat in danger for which the declaration of “in danger of disappearing” is contemplated in Spanish law).

In fresh water, the UA researcher says, rivers are “highly mistreated and we have abandoned many of the services they provide in exchange for converting them into drains.” Of course, according to the national recovery strategy, almost half of Spanish rivers are in poor condition.

river deception

The new European regulation makes explicit reference to the removal of barriers that prevent the “connectivity of surface waters”. It must be ensured that rivers continue to flow and floodplains fulfill their natural function. This is in fact one of the levers of fraud that has been used against ecological restoration by misrepresenting the release of barriers as the destruction of reservoirs.

Along with freshwater, wetlands are considered the most threatened ecosystems in the world. Spain lost up to 60% of these habitats in the last half of the 20th century. Since 2004, Spanish law requires a national inventory to be used as a conservation tool. However, according to the latest update from the Ministry of Ecological Transition, those in Catalonia, Galicia, Castilla y Leon, Aragon, Extremadura and the Canary Islands still need to be sent up. The 2030 Wetlands Strategic Plan shows that half of the 764 already listed have been altered, greatly altered or are missing.

The rule approved by the States this Monday places Spain on the list of States where the populations of common agricultural birds are “historically lowest”. That is, at least half of the species show a negative long-term demographic trend. The mixing of combines and preserved seeds to obtain maximum yields takes away natural treasures such as the Recotti Lark, Bustard, Little Bustard, Sandgrouse, Montagu’s Harrier, Lesser Kestrel and twenty other varieties. Spain must take measures to increase its index by 10% in 2030, 20% in 2040 and 30% in 2050.

In this area, biodiversity in agricultural ecosystems should be “improved”. Measures should increase the butterfly index, carbon stores in soils and the proportion of highly diverse landscape elements such as hedges, ponds or isolated trees. The decline in the number of pollinators should be reversed as much as possible by 2030.

“Prioritizing is work that still needs to be done,” says Lucas Barreiro, spokesperson for Ecologistas en Acción. “The implementation of the law requires a national recovery plan that must be coordinated with the autonomous communities, but must have the participation of society and interested sectors,” he adds. When creating this plan – which has two years – “we defend that a systemic and ecosystem approach must be addressed, rather than symbolic and specific places (such as Doñana or the Mar Menor). We all have whatever disasters we have, but we must apply a more global approach to reduce pressures.”

And is all this very expensive? “About 30 euros per person, which is not much for the purpose being pursued because I don’t know if anyone is aware of the importance of this law,” Cortina-Segarra estimates.