Javier Martínez Vega

Propuesta inicial de una red ampliada de Áreas Protegidas en España peninsular bajo el enfoque de su conexión con la matriz territorial

A first proposal of an enlarged network of protected areas in the Iberian Peninsula (Spain), on the basis of their surrounding zones It offers the opportunity to expand the existing network of protected areas of mainland Spain under a global conservation strategy of nature that goes far beyond of the preservation of spaces that already have a protection figure . Through the use of Geographic Information Technologies are designed buffer zones and ecological corridors to function as connectors core areas are the current Protected Natural Areas. This extended ecological network occupies 345,733 km 2 , equivalent to the 70 % of the total area of the study area. By way of validation, has combined this coverage maps Protected Areas scarcity, representativeness and diversity of forest ecosystems. According to these indicators of Landscape Ecology, 82.25 % of scarce forest ecosystems mainland Spain are within the expanded network of protected areas proposed, like the 82.88 % of the most representative mountains and 89.21 % of forest areas more diverse.

A methodological proposal for the analysis of sustainability in the province of Cuenca

The aim of this study is to define a synthetic —or global— index for sustainability, on a municipal level, which is capable of integrating its three main dimensions: economic, social and environmental. This index is expected to provide an approximate measure of sustainability on a harmonised scale whereby land managers, authorities and local communities can assess the gap between each municipality and its optimum global sustainability. In addition, the index will help establish comparisons among municipalities to aid decision making in terms of regional and/or sector planning. A second aim is to propose an operational methodology for estimating the integrated index of sustainability on the most elementary analysis level from an administrative-regional point of view: the municipal level. Finally, the situation of each municipality is represented in a three-axis diagram corresponding to the values of the three indices that show the three dimensions of sustainability, which are then integrated into one final synthetic index. Thus, it is possible to classify municipalities according to their characteristics and, above all, their sustainability. This enables regional and county planning to be designed in accordance with each typology.