Land Stewardship Program in Biosphere Reserves of the Cantabrian Mountains

MITECO

The initiative aims to promote land stewardship initiatives in the Biosphere Reserves of the Cantabrian Mountains whose main objective is to contribute to the conservation of the habitat and populations of the Cantabrian capercaillie.

The initiative aims to promote land stewardship initiatives in the Biosphere Reserves of the Cantabrian Mountains whose main objective is to contribute to the conservation of the habitat and populations of the Cantabrian capercaillie.

The LIFE09 NAT/ES/000513 project “Programme of urgent actions for the conservation of the capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus cantabricus) and its habitat in the Cantabrian mountain range “Cantabrian capercaillie” began in September 2010 with the aim of halting the decline of this subspecies endemic to the Iberian Peninsula.

Among the planned actions are the carrying out of habitat improvement works, control of predators and competitors and the implementation of an ex situ conservation program.

As a complement to these actions and to reinforce the objectives of the project, a Land Stewardship Program was designed that aims to be a tool that contributes to solving some of the problems that affect the subspecies and its habitat, with the cooperation of the owners of the territory and civil society.

With the aim of joining forces with other initiatives that are developed in the mountain range, the Stewardship Program will be carried out in Biosphere Reserves. This figure recognises territories in which human activity is carried out in a way that is compatible with the conservation of natural resources and cultural heritage and is ideal for experimenting and perfecting strategies that combine conservation and the economic development of local communities, such as land stewardship.

Within the area of action of the LIFE+ Cantabrian Capercaillie project, the areas declared SPAs of the following Biosphere Reserves will be considered: