**Author details**

through several LIFE projects that have been developed in recent decades (Corredores Oso, Oso/Cantabria, Oso/Galicia, Oso en Asturias, LIFE Bear Defragmentation, etc.). The initiative for the implementation of these projects arose from the provision of the Spanish Strategy for the Conservation of the Cantabrian Brown Bear [43]. However, new projects were also initiated seeking synergy between brown bear conservation and other aspects such as climate change ("Osos CO2") or insect conservation ("Abejas en Acción"). In a complementary way, support is available for the maintenance of mountain livestock by the different regional gov-

Regarding the capercaillie (*Tetrao urogallus*), this species has been the object of a conservation strategy parallel to the brown bear´s, since its presence is distributed in the same Biosphere Reserves as the plantigrade, reaching in some cases to share programs and actions of conservation (LIFE Ancares/Galicia and Ancares/Castilla y León) that were designed in a coordinated and complementary way. Nevertheless, capercaillie has had its own projects (LIFE + Urogallo Cantabrico). All these projects have pursued the improvement of the habitat for the capercaillie in the Cantabrian Mountains and the reintroduction of the species in areas where it had disappeared, and they have been supplemented by the aids for the maintenance of mountain livestock. In addition to the previous habitats and species, other examples have been the subject of LIFE projects in the Spanish Atlantic region in response to its high variety of ecosystems and because of its extraordinary biodiversity. In this way, the dune ecosystems (2110, 2120, 2130\*) have also been the subject of LIFE projects (LIFE + ARCOS, LIFE Dunas Laida), while several taxa of interest for conservation have also been the main beneficiaries of LIFE projects, as is the case of *Galemys pyrenaicus* (LIFE Desmania), *Margaritifera margaritifera* (LIFE Margal Ulla),

The Atlantic portion of Spain is one of the most biodiverse areas of the entire Atlantic biogeographical region and even of the entire European Union, since it includes a significant proportion of the whole variety of habitat types in the European Atlantic region. This has motivated Spain to be one of the countries that has bet more strongly on the Natura 2000 network,

The importance of the housed biodiversity values and the territorial representativeness of the Natura 2000 network have favored the establishment of a profuse and large set of Biosphere Reserves in the Spanish Atlantic region, which constitute territories that develop initiatives for the biodiversity conservation, the sustainable development, and the improvement of knowl-

The situation generated in the Spanish Atlantic region has allowed the development and implementation of LIFE projects for the conservation and restoration of habitats and populations of species of interest for conservation. Consequently, the Spanish Atlantic region has become a reference area when launching new strategies, functioning as a living laboratory to develop and test new experiences of biodiversity conservation, promotion of sustainable development,

and logistical support for research, monitoring, education, and information exchange.

ernments where brown bear is present.

40 Selected Studies in Biodiversity

or *Woodwardia radicans* (LIFE Miera), among many others.

mainly through the SCI/SAC and SPA delimited in the Atlantic region.

**7. Final considerations**

edge and capacities of the population.

Javier Ferreiro da Costa\* and Pablo Ramil-Rego

\*Address all correspondence to: ibader.bio@gmail.com

IBADER (Instituto de Biodiversidade Agraria e Desenvolvemento Rural)-GI-1934 TB, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (USC), Lugo, Spain
