Green infrastructure

1. POLICY SETTING

Previously, the focus of Spanish policy was to implement measures ensuring connectivity between existing protected areas rather than promoting the development of a comprehensive and coherent ecological network (Sygyzy, 2010). More recent changes to national legislation and strategy, however, include provisions for the establishment of a national Strategy on Green Infrastructure, Connectivity and Ecological Restoration. The elaboration of this national strategy is on-going (Trinomics et al., 2016).

The Natural Heritage and Biodiversity Law (42/2007) was updated in 2015 (Law 33/2015) and requires the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment, in collaboration with the autonomous communities of Spain and other ministries, to develop a national Green Infrastructure Strategy by 2018. It also requires the autonomous communities to develop their own Green Infrastructure Strategies by 2018 building on the national Strategy. The amendments to the law go beyond Spain’s previous action on GI, acknowledging not only its importance for habitat connectivity and biodiversity conservation, but also GI’s role in climate mitigation and adaptation and restoration of degraded ecosystems. Already in the revision of the law passed in 2007, it imposed a general obligation for the autonomous regions to take measures aimed at ensuring environmental connectivity. Prior to adopting Law 42/2007, autonomous communities had already introduced some initiatives to develop corridors (Trinomics et al., 2016).
The Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs continues to implement the National Strategy for the Restoration of Rivers, in line with the Water Framework Directive and Flood Directives. It includes a set of actions to preserve and recover the good state of Spanish waters, to minimise the risks of flooding, preserve cultural heritage, promote rational use of river space and promote sustainable development of the rural environment. The basis for the strategy has been published in 2012 (Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs, 2012).
The ‘projects under the National Plan for river restoration carried out by the hydrographic confederation of Cantábrico’ connect green infrastructure to the Water Framework and Flood Directives and correlate positively with ecosystem service areas and green urban areas (Trinomics et al., 2016).
The Strategic Plan for the conservation and rational use of wetlands promotes the restauration of wetlands that have been destroyed or degraded. Focus has also been given to the restoration of dunes and coastal habitats (European Commission, 2017).
Various regional laws focus on the connectivity of natural areas. Furthermore, green infrastructure is acknowledged in several laws on ecosystem service delivery, such as Law 9/1995 on territorial, soil and city-planning policy measures in the Autonomous Community of Madrid (Trinomics et al., 2016).
Barcelona’s Green Infrastructure and Biodiversity Plan 2020 was released in 2013 and lists over 70 projects and actions with the following aims: provide environmental and social services, introduce nature into the city, increase biodiversity, increase connectivity among patchy Green Infrastructure and make the city more resilient (Ajuntament de Barcelona, 2013; IEEP, 2016).
Valencia’s Landscape Policy has as one of its main objectives to define the Green Infrastructure of the Comunitat Valenciana, an interconnected network made up of landscapes with greater environmental, cultural and visual value that will become the basic ecological structure of the region. This definition goes along with a realisation that the maintenance of quality of life, biodiversity and basic ecological processes are the pillars on which the sustainability of the Valencian territory must be based in the long term. To address this challenge, it is necessary to adopt measures of integration between the different strategies that, over the last years, have been developed with these and other specific objectives in mind. To this end the city has announced a resolution in 2015 introducing an Action Plan for GI in the Comunitat Valenciana (Generalitat Valenciana, 2015b). GI will be consolidated from initiatives such as the Valencian network of protected natural areas or the Natura 2000 network, incorporation of other landscapes of cultural and visual value and critical areas of the territory with restrictions for urbanization, such as flood zones, areas with high risk of erosion, recharge areas of aquifers, etc. The set of these spaces will be bound together territorially by means of ecological corridors and functional connections. The proper management of Valencia’s GI will enhance the conservation of habitats, species and key natural elements, promote the strategy to combat climate change, contribute to risk prevention, reinforce the attractiveness of the region and preserve the cultural identity of Valencia (Generalitat Valenciana, 2015a).

2. IMPLEMENTATION OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE

The Autonomous Community of Madrid planned to develop an ecological corridor network at regional level as an opportunity for integrated social welfare and natural heritage conservation (Planificación de la red de corredores ecológicos de la Comunidad de Madrid: identificación de oportunidades para el bienestar social y la conservación del patrimonio natural). One of the specific objectives is to create a metropolitan green ring (suburban green corridors) based on the existing urban and metropolitan parks. The initiative is now in the project phase. The benefits of the project have not yet been estimated in detail, but while the lead example is primarily concerned with delivering environmental protection, disaster prevention and enhancement of urban and rural landscapes benefits, this initiative focuses on ecosystem service provision and ecosystem resilience. In comparison with the lead example, the cost/ha ratio appears to be more favourable (IEEP et al., 2010). There has been progress since 2010, for example, in 2016 Madrid announced that it will examine a non-legislative proposal from various ecologists and neighbourhood associations to create an ecological corridor South-East of Madrid that links the ‘Casa de Campo’ and the regional park ‘del curso medio del Guadarrama’ (Ayuntamiento de Madrid, 2016).
The City of Barcelona, within its Green Infrastructure and Biodiversity Plan up to 2020 (City of Barcelona, 2013) is implementing a range of actions to marry nature and the city. Although not explicitly following a systemic NBS approach from the outset, the cumulative effect of various measures is expected to be greater than merely a series of individual projects. For example, actions such as the further development of urban green corridors help to increase connectivity between green areas. In particular, the city recognises urban vegetable gardens as an important component of an urban green infrastructure. Additionally, (based on specific legislation) a network of street trees is also helping to boost resilience and adaptation to climate change, providing direct benefits to urban people. Finally, to the south of the metropolitan area, the coastal zone includes the delicate dunes ecosystem, which is managed by the Metropolitan Administration and provides ecosystem-based adaptation. The peri-urban forest of Collserola, in turn, is managed by the Consorci del Parc Natural de Collserola also in order to provide a series of ecosystem services (OPPLA, 2017).

While these measures have been planned separately at different times, taken together, they can be seen to have clearly enabled synergies in tackling a series of social challenges by providing key ecosystem services (OPPLA, 2017).

The municipality Vitoria-Gasteiz started a project in the 1990s to restore and recover the outlying areas of the city, creating a Green Belt containing peri-urban parks of high ecological and landscape value strategically linked by eco-recreational corridors. The project aimed to restore the Vitoria urban periphery, both from an ecological and a social point of view, with a focus on flood prevention. The area now has five implemented and two planned parks and contains Wetlands of International Importance and Sites of Community Importance included in the Natura 2000 network. In 2012, the city received the title of European Green Capital. Two examples of projects that were carried out are: 1) transforming a section of the Zadorra riverbanks into a large natural park integrated in the Green Belt, as a leisure area and at the same time as a flooding space for the river and 2) diverting the southern streams away from the sewage system into the Salburía Wetland to recover the wetland and integrate it in the Green Belt (Environmental Studies Centre, 2012).
Restoration of riparian forest on the bank of the Deva River in Northern Spain: the presence of meadows has reduced the space of fluvial mobility and causes erosion. The project was designed by the Confederación Hidrográfica del Cantábrico and executed by TRAGSA with funding from the Spanish Ministry of the Environment. Bio-engineering techniques were chosen to promote the development of the riparian forest. This included re-profiling the banks, lowering their slope to give them more stability and facilitating the establishment of the vegetation (Reform, 2010).
The rain water management based on GI in the municipality of Benaguasil won the city the Sustainable City Award 2016 in the category of the water cycle. The city has promoted a more sustainable management of rainwater through the use of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS), which is green infrastructure that encourages the retention, detention and infiltration of runoff. To this end, it has renovated urban spaces by constructing a vegetation cover, drainage ditches, permeable pavements, rain gardens, detention rafts and rainwater harvesting depots. The monitoring results confirm their efficiency in the management of urban water, and have highlighted additional benefits, such as greater resilience to the effects of climate change, reduction of energy consumption, avoiding sediment entry in the sewage network, and the multi-functionality of public spaces. The actions carried out also showed an important social impact, transferring the principles of sustainable management of rainwater to the population, other neighboring entities and attracting the interest of other municipalities in Spain and Europe (Ayuntamiento de Benguasil, 2016).
In 2016 the city of Burgos celebrated ‘more than 80 years of renaturalisation’ in the city: its Burgos green belt. This successful urban initiative is seen as a good practice case representing a long history of adequate supporting policies and legislation, combined with appropriate management measures, ongoing and new initiatives in order to ensure the continued territorial space and good ecological status of the green belt (Ayuntamiento de Burgos, 2016).
The city of Zaragoza utilised a LIFE project to start promoting GI initiatives around the city: the project entitled ‘creation, management and promotion of GI in Zaragoza’, a EUR 2 billion project running from 2013 to 2017, aims to improve the quality of GI by designing and managing Zaragoza’s GI by structuring it around a ‘blue matrix’ of infrastructure including rivers, riversides and wetlands, and a ‘green matrix’ focusing on forest and steppe areas. The aim is to improve the ecological status of both areas as well as their inter-connectivity and coherence to provide a multifunctional resource (Ayuntamiento de Zaragoza, 2016).
A Coruña and Málaga participate in the Horizon 2020 project COproductioN with NaturE for City Transitioning, INnovation and Governance (CONNECTING) which aims to co-develop the policy and practices necessary to scale up urban resilience, innovation and governance via nature-based solutions. An open innovation ecosystem approach bringing together city governments, SMEs, academia and civic society will be used to co-produce usable and actionable knowledge in all cities.
Valladolid participates in the Horizon 2020 project URBAN GreenUP which aims to obtain a tailored methodology to support the co-development of Renaturing Urban Plans focused on climate change mitigation and adaptation and efficient water management, and to assist in the effective implementation of Nature-Based Solutions.
Castellon participates in the Horizon 2020 project Urban Nature Labs (UNaLab) which aims to develop a robust evidence base and European framework of innovative, replicable, and locally-attuned nature-based solutions (NBS) to enhance the climate and water resilience of cities. UNaLab focuses on urban ecological water management, accompanied by greening measures and innovative and inclusive urban design.
Valencia participates in the Horizon 2020 project Green Cities for Climate and Water Resilience, Sustainable Economic Growth, Healthy Citizens and Environments (GrowGreen) which aims to deliver systemic changes to the long-term planning, development, operation and management of seven cities through the use of nature-based solutions (NBS), in order to deliver quantified improvements in climate and water resilience, social, environmental and economic performance.

3. MAINSTREAMING GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE

3.1 Nature

The EU Natura 2000 network is at the core of the EU's Green Infrastructure. Spain boasts a very rich biodiversity. It covers four out of the nine bio-geographical regions defined for the implementation of the Habitats Directive: Alpine, Atlantic, Mediterranean and Macaronesian, and three out of the five marine regions: Atlantic, Mediterranean and Macaronesian. 117 natural habitats and 429 species of wild fauna and flora of Community interest protected under the Habitats Directive occur in the Spanish territory. In addition, a total of 285 bird species are reported on Spain’s territory. With 1,863 Natura 2000 sites, 644 Birds Directive SPAs and 1,467 Habitats Directive SCIs, covering 27.2% of its land territory (EU average 18.1 %), Spain is the Member State providing the largest terrestrial surface contribution to the Natura 2000 Network (more than 137,000 Km²). Significant advances have been made recently in the completion of the network in Spain; in particular, an important surface of new marine SCIs has been proposed for inclusion in the updated list of sites, which also places Spain at the forefront of marine contribution to the Natura 2000 network (more than 86,000 Km²) (European Commission, 2017).

In Spain the link between GI and nature protected areas (incl. Natura 2000 sites) has been established under Article 15.3 of Law 33/2015, which states that the Spanish Green Infrastructure Strategy will take into account, inter alia, protected areas, habitats in danger of extinction and endangered species, mountain areas, river courses, wetlands, livestock routes, ocean currents, submarine canyons, migration routes facilitating connectivity, and high value nature farming areas. In addition, the prioritised habitats for restoration, land under the nature conservation banks and instruments used by the competent authorities for implementing the European Landscape Convention agreed in 2000 (Jefatura del Estado, 2015).

3.2 Agriculture

Law 45/2007, on sustainable development of rural areas, calls for the replacement of non-renewable energy, and highlights the benefits of increased vegetation cover as a carbon sink, and the need for rural inhabitants to adapt to new environmental conditions arising from climate change (LSE, 2016).

Furthermore, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment has approved in 2012 the National Action Plan for the Sustainable Use of Plant Protection Products, which establishes objectives, measures, timetables and indicators to introduce criteria for Sustainability in the use of phytosanitary products for the period 2013 to 2017 (BISE, 2015).

3.3 Forestry

The Spanish Forest Plan has a 30-year time span (2002-2032). It establishes the necessary actions for the development of a forest policy based on the principles of sustainable development, the multi-functionality of landscapes, territorial and ecological cohesion and public participation in the preparation of policies, strategies and programmes. It aims to increase the amount of carbon stored in forests through reforestation programmes, including: hydrological‐forest restoration, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) agricultural land reforestation programme, reforestation within the Red Natura 2000, and planting 19.5 million trees (which were planted by 2011, leading to reforestation of an area of more the 29,000 ha). Sustainable management of forests will be achieved through forest planning, forest management and forestry to improve forest masses (LSE, 2016). In 2015 the revision of the Spanish Forestry Plan 2002-2032 was initiated, establishing an extensive participation procedure to make this plan the basic instrument of the national forest policy (BISE, 2015).

The national ‘Plan of priority actions of hydrological-forestry restoration’ included in the Spanish Forestry Plan 2002-2030 sets a national plan for restoration of forestry in Spain, with focus on restoration, conservation and enhancement of the forest ecosystem (European Commission, 2017).

3.4 Water management

As mentioned above, national policies are being developed to recover the good state of Spanish waters and to prevent flooding. To reach these objectives, often GI measures are being considered, such as the restoration of hillsides, increasing vegetation cover of riparian forests and protection and conservation of wetlands. The additional benefits of such measures, such as enhancing the recreation and scenic values are recognised (Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs, 2012).

The LIFE-funded project ‘LIFE SEGURA RIVERLINK’ (LIFE database, 2017), for example, is based on such a GI approach: the project promotes environmental recovery of the Segura River Basin, a river basin that has been heavily managed via grey infrastructure measures including weirs and dams for decades. The project demonstrates three specific management measures for developing a green infrastructure approach to river basin management: remove one weir, construct fish passages across eight others, and implement supporting fluvial restoration practices.

3.5 Coastal protection

Law 22/1988 on the protection and use of the maritime-terrestrial public domain and seashore, amended by Law 2/2013 on the Protection and Sustainable Use of Coastal Areas, requires a consideration of climate change in new projects in coastal areas (LSE, 2016). The Spanish Strategy for Coastal Sustainability relates to green infrastructure through two fundamental challenges: restoring physical functionality in the natural coastal zone and adapting to climate change (Spanish Ministry of Environment, 2005).

3.6 Transport

Transport infrastructure has been identified as one of the main drivers of habitat fragmentation and a working group has been set up to address this issue specifically. One of the important deliverables of this group under the Spanish Ministry for Agriculture, Food and Environment is a guidance document entitled ‘Defragmentation of habitats: Guidance for reducing the effects of roads and railways (Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentacion y Medio Ambiente, 2013). This guidance provides practical information regarding available good practice examples, laws and regulation facilitating the implementation of defragmentation of habitats affected due to transport infrastructure. The guide can help various levels of administration identify the critical zones affected and with the selection of appropriate measures to address the defragmentation specific to each situation.

There are other guidelines developed by this Working Group (Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentacion y Medio Ambiente, 2017) relevant for promoting the implementation of GI. These include a guide on the identification of areas to be de-fragmented, (2014), as well as a guide for designing wildlife crossings and fence design (2015).

3.7 Climate Change

The 3rd Action Programme for Adaptation to Climate Change in Spain includes action lines related to the development of an ecosystem-based approach for adaptation to climate change, as well as on the development of guidance for integrating climate change adaptation within ecological restoration and connectivity initiatives (Ministerio de la Agricultura, Alimentacion y Medio Ambiente, 2014):

Evaluation concerning vulnerability of biodiversity with regard to invasive species.
Development of guidelines for the integration of adaptation into ecological restoration and ecosystem connectivity efforts.
Development of guidelines for integrating adaptation into the management of natural resources as well as planning and management of Protected Areas.
Evaluation concerning the vulnerability of the Natura 2000 network versus the impact of climate change.
Consolidation and expansion of the Global Change Monitoring Network in National Parks.
Development of methodologies for cost-benefit analysis of adaptation in the field of biodiversity.
Creation of climate change indicators in the biodiversity and ecosystem services sector.
Assessment of climate change impacts on the conservation of biodiversity in the agricultural, livestock and fisheries sectors.

4. FINANCING GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE

In order to ensure adequate funding for the Spanish Natura 2000 network, the Priority Action Framework for the financing of Natura 2000 for the period 2014-2020 has been developed, which defines the strategic priorities, the necessary measures and the possible sources of funding to ensure the conservation of natural habitats and species covered by this network. In this context, work has begun on designing a system for applying innovative financial mechanisms for Natura 2000 in Spain with special emphasis on payment for ecosystem services (BISE, 2015).

In the period 2009-2012, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment already promoted actions in the Natura 2000 network in several autonomous communities, for a total amount of about 55 million Euros financed via the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) (BISE, 2015).

In Spain, following the initiative of the United Nations, the project "Millennium Ecosystem Assessment of Spain" has been carried out, an interdisciplinary project promoted by the Autonomous University of Madrid with the Foundation Biodiversity of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment. The project provides validated scientific information on the state and trends of services delivered by Spanish ecosystems and their relevance for the welfare of Spanish society. The second phase of this project is addressing the economic valuation of selected ecosystem services (BISE, 2015).

There are several previous experiences to determine the economic and social value of ecosystems, including the Valuation of Natural Assets in Spain (VANE). This project, developed by the University of Alcalá, identifies the natural assets of Spain and establishes physical models of allocation of economic value, elaborating a territorial information system of natural capital, which allows the cartographic presentation of the information and the results obtained (BISE, 2015).

Some best practice cases highlighted in this fiche include information on GI costs:

The estimated budget of the Trees Master Plan is 9.4 million Euros a year. Of this budget, 8.3 million Euros a year is available for tree management. The difference of 1.1 million Euros/year is used for necessary related investments, mainly in the areas of improved soil and water management (ClimateAdapt, 2016).
The costs for the territorial information system and land planning tool SITxell were around EUR 3,285,000 between 2001 and 2010 (including human resources, technical resources and external support). The project was developed by the Natural Areas Department of the Barcelona Provincial Council (personal communication with Carles Castell, Technical Office of Land Planning and Analysis, Area of Natural Spaces, Barcelona Provincial Council, 2011).
The restoration of riparian forest on the bank of the Deva River cost EUR 186,389 and was financed by the Spanish Ministry of the Environment (Trinomics et al., 2016).

5. CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR GI DEVELOPMENT

5.1 Best practice/points of excellence

5.2 Challenges/gaps/needs

In the framework of a previous study on GI (Trinomics et al., 2016), national experts identified the following needs and challenges with regards to GI implementation in the country:

A polarised approach to territorial planning has often resulted in social conflicts between conservation authorities and resource users, with largely negative consequences for biodiversity and ecosystem services. Natural areas under strict conservation programs are embedded in a broader matrix of intensively managed land uses (mostly for food production).
Further integration of industrial and nature conservation policies.
Integration of biodiversity into economic sectors, e.g., tourism, to promote the development of multifunctional Green Infrastructure areas.
Integration of sustainable agriculture and a network of protected areas within broader production landscapes to promote the development of multifunctional Green Infrastructure areas.
Further integration of the Green Infrastructure approach into landscape and urban planning processes.
Promotion of commitment for Green Infrastructure in regions where commitment is currently low.
Incorporation of conclusions and recommendations from MAES/MA into decision making.
Further development of sub-regional plans (still lacking in some regions).

5.3 Opportunities

5.4 Benefits

6. KNOWLEDGE BASE

The National Ecosystem Assessment of Spain began in 2009, completed its biophysical evaluation in 2012 and starts a socio-economic valuation in 2016 (Santos-Martín et al., 2016). After conducting the biophysical assessment of Spanish ecosystems and biodiversity, the Spanish NEA also developed a future scenario exercise and a spatial explicit analysis on biodiversity, ecosystem services, land use change and socioeconomic variables. Additionally, it was developed a social meta-analysis with data from the different Spanish case studies to uncovered ecosystem services bundles through social preferences (BISE, n.d.).
The LIFE SEGURA RIVERLINK demonstration project aims to promote and support the environmental recovery of the Segura River Basin, which testing and demonstrating approaches to green infrastructure that remain relatively uncommon in the Mediterranean. The project includes monitoring activities and plans to validate three management measures for developing a green infrastructure approach to river basin management, in both protected and non-protected areas in an urban setting. The project should be an early step towards restoring permeability of the whole river, and serve as a good example in the region (LIFE database, n.d).
Green Infrastructure and Human Well-Being: Integrating Knowledge, Methods and Data From Ecosystem Service Assessments in Spain and Norway: this project aims to close gaps in knowledge about urban ecosystem services of Green Infrastructure by promoting mutual learning between ecosystem service assessments in Spain and Norway. The project’s goals are threefold and include i) promote collaboration between research institutions in Norway and Spain through sharing and integration of knowledge and data from ecosystem services assessments, ii) jointly develop methodological guidelines to assess and value ecosystem services provided in urban areas of Spain and Norway, and iii) compare data, results and lessons learned across case studies to inform green infrastructure strategies in the two countries (UAM, n.d.).
SITxell (acronym in Catalan for Territorial Information System for the Network of Open Areas in the province of Barcelona) is a territorial information system from the Barcelona Provincial Council. It is structured through different layers of geographical information and intended to study and evaluate the open areas of the province. On a political level, SITxell is a tool intended to influence land planning processes in the province of Barcelona, by providing socio-economic and ecological information. The conceptual basis of this tool lies in the conviction that the open spaces as a whole are the basic territorial system, upon which settlement and infrastructure systems must properly be placed, so that open areas maintain their key ecological and socio-economic functions (SITxell, n.d.). Maps of several ecosystem services of the province of Barcelona can be viewed on the website (SITxell, 2016).
In recent years, a number of studies have been carried out in Spain aimed at identifying vulnerable ecosystems to the effects of climate change, in order to identify strategies and adequate measures to mitigate these effects. For example, the "Preliminary Climate Change Impact Assessment for Spain" analyses the main climate change impacts on different types of ecosystems and makes recommendations to address them. Similarly, within the framework of the National Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change, the project "Assessment of Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation of Biodiversity to Climate Change in Spain" has carried out an assessment of the potential effects of and vulnerability to climate change from the perspective of biodiversity across the Spanish peninsular throughout the 21st century, using spatial modelling techniques on the best available information on climate change and the distribution of target species (BISE, 2015).

7. FURTHER RESOURCES AND PUBLICATIONS

Website of the Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs (in Spanish): http://www.mapama.gob.es/

The National Ecosystem Assessment of Spain: http://www.ecomilenio.es

The Nature Data Bank (Banco de Datos de la Naturaleza) (in Spanish) containing all information such as datasets, maps, documentation and analysis relevant for the Spanish inventory of natural heritage and biodiversity: http://www.mapama.gob.es/en/biodiversidad/servicios/banco-datos-naturaleza/default.aspx

8. LIST OF CONSULTED REFERENCES

Ajuntament de Barcelona (2013). Barcelona green infrastructure and biodiversity plan 2020. http://ajuntament.barcelona.cat/ecologiaurbana/sites/default/files/Barcelona%20green%20infrastructure%20and%20biodiversity%20plan%202020.pdf

Ayuntamiento de Benguasil (2016). La apuesta por la infraestructura verde urbana para la gestión de pluviales tiene premio. http://www.conama2016.org/web/generico.php?idpaginas=&lang=es&menu=406&id=1230&op=view

Ayuntamiento de Burgos (2016). El Cinturón Verde de Burgos, más de 80 años “renaturalizando” la ciudad. http://www.conama.org/conama/download/files/conama2016/STs%202016/1998972557_ppt_RMilara.pdf

Ayuntamiento de Madrid (2016). El Ayuntamiento estudiará la propuesta de corredor ecológico. http://www.madrid.es/portales/munimadrid/es/Inicio/Actualidad/Noticias/El-Ayuntamiento-estudiara-la-propuesta-de-corredor-ecologico?vgnextfmt=default&vgnextoid=be42c6c0a8e82510VgnVCM1000000b205a0aRCRD&vgnextchannel=a12149fa40ec9410VgnVCM100000171f5a0aRCRD#

Ayuntamiento de Zaragoza (2016). Una infraestructura verde para Zaragoza. http://www.conama.org/conama/download/files/conama2016/STs%202016/1998972178_ppt_MHernandez.pdf

BISE (2015). Spain - Contribution to the mid-term review of the EU biodiversity strategy to 2020 based on the 5th national report to CBD. http://biodiversity.europa.eu/mtr/countries/spain/#action6

BISE (n.d.). MAES-related developments in Spain. Accessed 11 April 2016: http://biodiversity.europa.eu/maes/maes_countries/spain

Environmental Studies Centre (2012). The Interior Green Belt. Towards an Urban Green Infrastructure in Vitoria-Gasteiz. http://www.vitoria-gasteiz.org/wb021/http/contenidosEstaticos/adjuntos/es/50/71/45071.pdf

European Commission (2017). The EU Environmental Implementation Review Country report – Spain. http://ec.europa.eu/environment/eir/pdf/report_es_en.pdf

European Commission (2013). Green Infrastructure (GI) – Enhancing Europe’s Natural Capital. {SWD(2013) 155 final}. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:d41348f2-01d5-4abe-b817-4c73e6f1b2df.0014.03/DOC_1&format=PDF

Generalitat Valenciana (2015a) Planificacion territorial e infraestructura verde. http://www.habitatge.gva.es/web/planificacion-territorial-e-infraestructura-verde

Generalitat Valenciana (2015b). Plan de Acción Territorial de la Infraestructura Verde del Litoral de la Comunitat Valenciana. http://www.upv.es/contenidos/CAMUNISO/info/941452normalc.html

IEEP (2016). The Health and Social Benefits of Nature and Biodiversity Protection – Annex 1: 20 Case Studies. http://www.ieep.eu/assets/2094/Health_and_Social_Benefits_of_Nature_-_Final_Report_Annex_1_-_20_cases_sent.pdf

IEEP, Ecologic, GHK, Sygyzy, TAU, University of Antwerp, VITO (2010). Green Infrastructure in-depth case analysis. Theme 5: Urban Green Infrastructure. http://www.ieep.eu/assets/903/GI_Case_Analysis_5_-_Urban_Green_Infrastructure.pdf

Jefatura del Estado (2015). Ley 33/2015, de 21 de septiembre, por la que se modifica la Ley 42/2007, de 13 de diciembre, del Patrimonio Natural y de la Biodiversidad. http://www.boe.es/buscar/pdf/2015/BOE-A-2015-10142-consolidado.pdf

LIFE database (n.d.). LIFE Segura Riverlink – Riverlink. Accessed 11 April 2017: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/project/Projects/index.cfm?fuseaction=search.dspPage&n_proj_id=4635

LSE (2016). The Global Climate Legislation Study. Spain. Accessed 11 April 2017: http://www.lse.ac.uk/GranthamInstitute/legislation/countries/spain/

Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente (2013). Desfragmentación de hábitats. Orientaciones para reducir los efectos de las infrastructuras de transporte en funcionamiento. Documentos para la reducción de la fragmentación de hábitats causada por infrastructuras de transporte, numero 5. O.A. Parques Nacionales. Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente. 159pp. Madrid. http://www.minuartia.com/data/publicacions/bio/pt5_desfragmentacion_orientaciones_2013.pdf

Ministerio de la Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente (2014). Plan Nacional de Adaptación al Cambio Climatico: Tercer Programa de Trabajo 2014-2020. http://www.mapama.gob.es/es/cambio-climatico/temas/impactos-vulnerabilidad-y-adaptacion/3PT-PNACC-enero-2014_tcm7-316456.pdf

Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente (2017). Documentos del Grupo de Trabajo sobre fragmentación de hábitats causada por infraestructuras de transporte. Accessed 24 May 2017: http://www.mapama.gob.es/es/biodiversidad/temas/ecosistemas-y-conectividad/conectividad-fragmentacion-de-habitats-y-restauracion/fragm-documentos-grupo-trabajo.aspx

Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs (2012). River restoration. Basis of the National Strategy for river restoration. http://www.mapama.gob.es/en/agua/publicaciones/River_B_Restoration_tcm11-27571.pdf

Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs. National Strategy for the restoration of rivers. Accessed: 9 May 2017. http://www.mapama.gob.es/es/agua/temas/delimitacion-y-restauracion-del-dominio-publico-hidraulico/estrategia-nacional-restauracion-rios/

OPPLA (2017). Barcelona: Nature-based Solutions (NBS) Enhancing Resilience to Climate Change. http://www.oppla.eu/casestudy/17283

Reform (2010). Deva River. Bank protection on the right bank of the Deva River in Molleda. Accessed 11 April 2017: http://wiki.reformrivers.eu/index.php/Deva_River._Bank_protection_on_the_right_bank_of_the_Deva_River_in_Molleda

SITxell (n.d.). The project. Presentation. Accessed 11 April 2017: http://www.sitxell.eu/en/projecte.asp

SITxell (2016). Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services. Accessed 11 April 2017: http://www.sitxell.eu/en/mapa_serveisecosistemics.asp

Spanish Ministry of Environment (2005). Integrated coastal zone management in Spain. Report by Spain in fulfilment of the requirements of Chapter VI of the Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning implementation of Integrated Coastal Zone Management in Europe. http://ec.europa.eu/ourcoast/download.cfm?fileID=1323

Santos-Martín F., García Llorente M., Quintas-Soriano C., Zorrilla-Miras P., Martín-López B., Loureiro M., Benayas J., Montes M. (2016). Spanish National Ecosystem Assessment: Socio-economic valuation of ecosystem services in Spain. Synthesis of the key findings. Biodiversity Foundation of the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment. Madrid, Spain.

Sygyzy (2010). Ecological network legislation in European countries. Report for the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts. https://www.syzygy.nl/documents/Ecological_Network_Legislation_in_European_Countries_Graham_Bennett.pdf

Trinomics, ALTERRA, Arcadis, Risk & Policy Analysis, STELLA Consulting, and Regional Environmental Centre (2016) 'Green Infrastructure in Spain', in Supporting the Implementation of Green Infrastructure, Final Report to the European Commission under Service Contract ENV.B.2/SER/2014/0012, Annex I. http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/ecosystems/pdf/Green%20Infrastructure/GI_ES.pdf

UAM (n.d.). Green Infrastructure And Human Well-Being: Integrating Knowledge, Methods And Data From Ecosystem Service Assessments In Spain And Norway (028-ABEL-IM-2014B). https://www.uam.es/gruposinv/socioeco/en/ficha_proyecto%206.htm