The LIFE+ MAP Natura 2000 Spain project ends with the development of a Priority Action Framework. After two and a half years of work, the LIFE+ MAP Natura 2000 Spain project, coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation and the Directorate-General for Environmental Quality and Assessment and the Natural Environment of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, has concluded with the preparation of a Priority Action Framework (MAP) which establishes 5 strategic priorities and nearly 200 measures for the conservation of the areas that make up the Spanish Natura 2000 Network.

This LIFE project, co-financed by the European Commission, was born with the aim of improving the financing and management capacity of the Natura 2000 Network in Spain, the country that contributes the most territory to this Network in the European Union with more than 27% of the national area, and has made it possible to comply with Article 8 of the Habitats Directive. by which the European Priority Action Framework was to be developed.

This Priority Action Framework identifies priorities, objectives and actions for the conservation of habitats and species included in both the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, as well as the possible financing instruments of the Spanish Natura 2000 Network for EU funds in the period 2014-2020, as well as other innovative financial mechanisms.

The more than 200 measures necessary for the management of the Natura 2000 Network that have been drawn up correspond to these  5 priorities: improvement of knowledge for management, ensuring the effective management of Natura 2000 Network protected areas (planning, promotion of compatible uses, etc.), maintenance or restoration of the favourable conservation status of habitat types and Natura 2000 species, surveillance and monitoring and information, training and awareness-raising. 

In order to analyse the possibilities offered by the main European financial instruments to implement the necessary measures included in the MAP, the Working Group “Nature and Biodiversity Conservation and Community Funds” was created within the framework of the Network of Environmental Authorities. Thus, the integration of the priorities of the MAP in Spain with the financing instruments of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), the European Social Fund (ESF), the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) has been analysed. Finally, a pilot project for the regional application of the MAP has been developed through the realization of the MAP for Castilla y León.