This project has served to provide practical tools to improve the quality of the management instruments of the Natura 2000 Network.

The Fernando González Bernáldez Foundation has developed a project that has served to provide practical tools to improve the quality of the management instruments of the Natura 2000 Network. The initiative has had the support of the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment.

Within the framework of the initiative, various training activities have been launched. Thus, the course “Quality criteria for the management instruments of the Natura 2000 Network” was held at the Autonomous University of Madrid, a course that has made it possible to advance in the development of tools to ensure the quality of the management of the Natura 2000 Network, through the application of standards and codes of good practice. A workshop on Natura 2000 management plans was also held, with the participation of technical managers for the planning and management of the Natura 2000 Network, from national, regional and local administrations.

Thanks to the project, technical assistance has been provided to managers for the application of the quality standard in the Network’s management instruments. The quality criteria document for the management plans has been improved based on the incidents overcome during the application of the tool and the suggestions collected by users. To ensure specific communication with those responsible for drafting management plans for the Natura 2000 Network, a distribution list was set up in order to distribute calls for events and progress on the results of the project.

In addition, an online platform, the Natura 2000 Network Thermometer, has been launched, which shows the progress of the planning of the Natura 2000 Network in Spain. A website that seeks to be a point of reference for the state of development of the Network in our country, thanks to the information it offers, which is continuously updated.

Another aspect contemplated in the project has been the dissemination of its results to reach more people. To this end, the online publication of the text “Quality guide for the development of a management instrument for the Natura 2000 Network” has been updated. All the products produced within the framework of the project have been disseminated through the EUROPARC website – an organisation in which the institutions involved in the planning and management of protected areas in Spain participate – in which a specific space has been set up for the Natura 2000 Network. The set of actions of the initiative has made it possible for the quality of the management instruments of the Natura 2000 Network to improve significantly through practical tools.

The project received the Natura 2000 award from the European Commission in the category “Award for Networking and Cross-Border Cooperation” in 2014.