Line of action:

Terrestrial ecosystems

Status:

Finalizado

Execution date:

2018

Total budget:

€29,068.00

Amount of aid from the Biodiversity Foundation:

€24,707.80

The pro-undivided forests, which are those that belong to several owners in community without division between them, account for around 5% of the national area, and are regulated by the Forestry Law of 2003. In Asturias there are 200 (57,000 ha), which are mainly located in the southwestern area. Several of them are located within the distribution area of the Cantabrian capercaillie and the brown bear in areas of the Natura 2000 Network. These forests include priority and fundamental habitats to guarantee the favourable conservation status of these species, so the entity seeks to contribute to promoting compatible management and involve their owners in the development of good practices and the search for innovative financing and management mechanisms , with a scientific basis and consensus among the social actors of the territory.

The main objective is to propose and disseminate a model of management of undivided forests compatible with the conservation of the habitat of the Cantabrian capercaillie and the brown bearin areas of the Natura 2000 Network.

It has the following specific goals:

• To review the legal and regulatory bases of the pro-undivided forests within the framework of their integration into the management instruments of the Natura 2000 Network and to review the existing literature on the effects of new and traditional uses on the conservation of Cantabrian capercaillie and brown bear and their habitats.
• To develop a pilot proposal for application in a selection of undivided forests in the Natura 2000 Network area of Fuentes del Narcea, Degaña and Ibias (Asturias).
• Define a management model for undivided forests that incorporates measures aimed at the strategic conservation priorities provided for in the Priority Action Framework (MAP) of the Natura 2000 Network for the habitats of the Cantabrian capercaillie and the brown bear and promote its application by the responsible administrations and the actors involved.

• Legal and bibliographic review of the pro-undivided forests and the effects of new and traditional uses on the habitat of the Cantabrian capercaillie and the brown bear from the perspective of their integration into the management instruments of the Natura 2000 Network and the application of financial instruments of the European Union.
• Development of a pilot application in a selection of undivided forests that maintain the presence of both species in order to evaluate and define the measures that will be proposed in the general management model.
• Preparation of a management model for undivided forests in areas with the presence of Cantabrian capercaillie and brown bear in the Natura 2000 Network based on the information collected.
• Dissemination of the results to the different actors involved, such as owners, representatives of management boards of pro-undivided forests and competent authorities.

• The legal, scientific and social reality of the pro-undivided forests with the presence of brown bear and Cantabrian capercaillie has been analysed.
• Three selected pro-undivided pilot forests (2,360 hectares) in southwestern Asturias have been studied through analysis and mapping of the relevant habitats of the species and a proposal for compatibility and conservation actions.
• A framework of management proposals has been established that is expected to integrate conservation and sustainable use in many private forests.
• A Management Model for Undivided Forests has been developed with measures aimed at the strategic conservation priorities provided for in the Priority Action Framework (MAP) of the Natura 2000 Network for the habitats of the Cantabrian capercaillie and the brown bear.
• The results of the project have been disseminated with the owners of undivided forests, administration technicians and other social actors related to the management of undivided forests with the presence of the two species.
• In short, it has contributed to disseminate a model of management of undivided forests compatible with the conservation of the habitat of the two species studied in the project.