In this important year for biodiversity, the EUROPARC Federation is once again promoting the celebration of European Parks Day, an event that has been celebrated every May 24 since 1999. This commemorative event has its origin in the declaration of the first national parks in Europe, specifically in Sweden in 1909. The slogan chosen for this year is “Nature, good for your health!”, a message that highlights the link between the health of nature and that of human beings, and the importance of a healthy planet.

Along these lines, the Biodiversity Foundation supports different projects that are developed in our National Parks, the most prestigious protection figure in our country. Since 2005 we have supported more than 80 projects, of which 13 are currently underway.

The Association for Spanish Forest Certification (PEFC Spain) is working on the project “Improvement of biodiversity in the habitat of the imperial eagle in the area of the Monfragüe National Park“. Through various actions in the Dehesa de El Guijo, an estate located in this National Park, the aim is to increase the replacement rate of the imperial eagle, a situation that would be related to problems such as the deterioration of the mass of holm oaks and cork oaks. The improvement of the trees could also influence other birds such as black vultures, the eagle owl and the black storks that nest in this space. Within the framework of this project, it is also contemplated to address other issues such as the low density of species such as rabbits. The improvement in this last aspect can be presented as a facilitating action so that the existing lynx population in Extremadura (present in areas such as Ibores and Valle del Matachel) can colonise new territories and reach the Monfragüe National Park.

For its part, Eco-union is developing “Conserve and avoid overcrowding”, a project that works on the evaluation, planning, management and governance of tourism in the Network of National Parks of Spain, in order to generate recommendations to manage the environmental impacts of tourism and mobility, especially caused by tourism overcrowding.

In the Maritime-Terrestrial National Park of the Cabrera Archipelago, the University of the Balearic Islands is developing non-destructive electronic systems for the monitoring of bioindicator insects in areas of natural interest in the Balearic Islands. These actions highlight the importance of insects in ecosystems and the global decline of their populations due to problems such as habitat reduction and climate change.

In the Maritime-Terrestrial National Park of the Atlantic Islands of Galicia we collaborate with different entities in different projects framed in the Pleamar Programme, co-financed by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). One of them is REMAR, carried out by the Amicos Association that focuses on the reduction of marine litter through the collection, treatment and prevention of its generation. Finally, the Marine Research Institute of the CSIC (IIM-CSIC) studies through the project, “Evaluation and improvement of the survival of discards in the Galician artisanal fleet by means of Acoustic Telemetry” (DESTAC) how to estimate the survival of discards of the artisanal fleet in the surroundings of the Cíes Islands belonging to this National Park, as well as identify technical improvements to minimize the impact of discarding.