The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment joins the celebration of the 2nd European Land Stewardship Week, which, until October 5, aims to raise awareness with activities throughout the European territory about the importance of this tool for the conservation of natural, cultural and landscape values.
 
The Ministry’s own Biodiversity Foundation currently supports land stewardship projects with more than one million euros, of which 24 belong to initiatives that are developed within its call for aid, to which it contributes 708,000 euros. The subject matter is very varied, with the most numerous being projects aimed at the conservation of the river environment and protected or threatened species. The rest have an impact on aspects such as forest management and forest fires, agriculture and consumption, creation or support for custody networks, restoration of public spaces or organisation of congresses.

According to data collected in the III Inventory of Land Stewardship Initiatives of the Spanish State, there has been a significant increase in the number of hectares, entities and stewardship agreements compared to the figures for 2010, which demonstrates the trend of growth and generalization of this tool for the conservation of nature and heritage. especially in its application to private estates. The total area dedicated to land stewardship in Spain amounted in 2013 to 660,240.93 hectares, which means an increase of more than 40% compared to the figures for 2010. The 1,990 agreements in force and the almost 190 active custody entities also demonstrate a notable growth in custody activities in Spain.

In addition, the Beaches, Rivers, Volunteering and Land Stewardship Programme, has been committed, since its inception in 2012, to the conservation of our beaches and rivers through volunteering, with the participation of more than 10,600 volunteers, with actions on 79 beaches and rivers, organised by 71 land stewardship entities.

The LIFE+ Cantabrian Capercaillie land stewardship programme is also an initiative that seeks to promote voluntary agreements between owners and stewardship entities on estates that are of special interest to the conservation of the Cantabrian capercaillie and its environment. Within the framework of the program, which aims to halt the decline of this subspecies endemic to the Iberian Peninsula and promote its recovery, 14 stewardship projects have been approved so far and 19 agreements have been signed. The projects, aimed at managing the habitat of the capercaillie, have been developed in the Special Environmental Protection Areas (SPAs) Fuentes del Narcea, Degaña and Ibias, Redes, Picos de Europa, Ancares Leoneses, Alto Sil, Omaña and Ancares de Lugo. Specifically, thanks to the collaboration of 9 custodial entities, silvicultural treatments have been carried out on 74 hectares to increase the availability of food for the capercaillie.