**4. Assessment of the environmental and socioeconomic effects of Spanish National Parks**

Regular monitoring, assessment and evaluation are essential to gauge effectiveness of PAs and of any other public initiative or policy. Four types of assessments in Spanish NPs can be identified.

#### **4.1. Regular inner assessments**

Regular censuses or samplings of biodiversity of conservation concern (e.g. endangered species) are regularly carried out in each NP according to their management planning using their own means and staff. Other features of conservation concerns, such as cultural or geomorphological features, are subject to regular surveillance and more sporadic (normally reactive) monitoring.

#### **4.2. External assessments: project calls**

Network (approximately 58% in 2015) [12] is devoted to subsidies aimed at compensating local dwellers in the municipalities included in NPs for the restrictions to natural or cultural resource use from NPs' regulations and at promoting sustainable economic practices. Thus, the aims of the Spanish NP Network are closely aligned with those of sustainable development: environmental conservation, social equity and economic profitability. But are NPs

**Figure 2.** Location of Spanish National Parks by September of 2017. Numbers indicate order of designation: 1. Picos de Europa; 2. Ordesa y Monte Perdido; 3. Teide; 4. Caldera de Taburiente; 5. Aigüestortes i estany de Sant Maurici; 6. Doñana; 7. Tablas de Daimiel; 8. Timanfaya; 9. Garajonay; 10. Archipiélago de Cabrera; 11. Cabañeros; 12. Sierra Nevada;

Regular monitoring, assessment and evaluation are essential to gauge effectiveness of PAs and of any other public initiative or policy. Four types of assessments in Spanish NPs can be

**4. Assessment of the environmental and socioeconomic effects of** 

attaining them?

identified.

**Spanish National Parks**

13. Islas Atlánticas; 14. Monfragüe; 15. Sierra de Guadarrama.

106 National Parks - Management and Conservation

The OAPN finances annual calls for research projects on natural values, cultural heritage, socioeconomic aspects and traditional knowledge in NPs since 2002. Those calls are included in the Spanish Research, Development & Innovation Plan. Research priorities in Spanish NPs are established in the NP Master Plan. According to it, funding precedence will be given to projects that monitor global change effects, projects that include more than one NP and projects

**Figure 3.** OAPN's funded 2015 research call on National Park's advertisement on the Spanish Ministry of Environment's website.

whose results are applicable to the whole NP Network. Eleven 3-year projects were funded under this call in 2015, with an overall budget of 619,000€. The OAPN convenes annual joint dissemination sessions between NP managers and scientists who develop research funded by the OAPN in NPs [13] (**Figure 3**).

**4.4. Other assessments**

is kept and results are rarely put across to NP managers.

are communicated to and stored by the OAPN (**Figure 4**).

There are plenty of other studies on Spanish NPs carried out by universities and research centers every year—degree, master or PhD theses are examples of such short- or medium-term research effort developed in NPs-. Those studies help to better understand the environmental and socioeconomic status of NPs, although they rarely align with research priorities in NPs but rather with external aims or interests. Moreover, no standardized register of such research

A Centennial Path Towards Sustainability in Spanish National Parks: Biodiversity…

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.73196

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Even if the research done in PAs is in accordance to official needs, the results of those studies may be published but are seldom conveyed in an understandable manner to PA managers, yet substantial amounts of primary information (e.g. from internal monitoring programmes), services and/or permission are usually asked from managers by researchers from the onset. Sometimes, lack of collaboration comes from the managers' side [14]. This bi-directional information flow mismatch is common in PAs in Spain [8] and elsewhere [15] and results in that there exists much more valuable information on PAs than that at the disposal of managers and scientists. To prevent this mismatch and make Spanish NP managers aware of some of the most relevant research that affects their sites, the NP Master Plan of 2016 establishes the creation of a public-access research database where results of every authorized study in NPs

**Figure 4.** Online national park research project searcher on the Spanish Ministry of Environment's website.

In addition to this specific call, other more generic or complementary research calls by the central government or by the regional governments that can be used to fund research in NPs are opened yearly. One example of this is the multi-annual Spanish R + D + I Plan, which funds research projects that can be carried out in NPs through its two main lines: basic science (Excellence Call) and applied science (Societal Challenges Call). The Spanish R + D + I Plan 2013–2016 actually funded two projects on NPs and other PAs that will be mentioned in more detail in this chapter: DISESGLOB and SOSTPARK.

#### **4.3. Institutional assessments: monitoring programmes**

As a result of common research priorities identified in the 1999 NP Master Plan, the central and regional governments started developing, from 2008, a NP Monitoring and Assessment Plan. It was endorsed in 2011 and continued to develop according to the mandates in the Law 30/2014, on NPs, that confers the central government (through the OAPN) the competencies for: (1) monitoring and assessment of the NP Network, (2) communication and knowledge exchange among NPs, (3) promoting scientific research and dissemination, and (4) encouraging sustainable development in municipalities in NPs [10]. The NP Monitoring and Assessment Plan is structured in three areas:

#### *4.3.1. Functional monitoring*

It assesses the global functioning, coherence and meeting of the overall objectives of the NP Network. It results in yearbooks (by NP and of the network) and in a 3-year report on the status of the NP Network.

#### *4.3.2. Ecological monitoring*

It seeks to gather information on the state of conservation and ecological functioning of natural systems in the NP Network according to verified protocols and to assess the current status of biodiversity, its changes and future prospects in a context of global change. So far, the variables that are being monitored relate to forest health, plant phenology, climate change, ecosystem productivity, ecosystem structure, natural system cartography, common bird species, butterflies and marine environment.

#### *4.3.3. Sociological monitoring*

It studies the social effect of the NP Network on three target groups: local residents, visitors and the whole Spanish society. Indicators under this area refer to: social perception, socioeconomic data in municipalities included in NPs, effect of subsidies on those municipalities and social impact of the Network (on scientists, PA managers and environmental NGOs).

#### **4.4. Other assessments**

whose results are applicable to the whole NP Network. Eleven 3-year projects were funded under this call in 2015, with an overall budget of 619,000€. The OAPN convenes annual joint dissemination sessions between NP managers and scientists who develop research funded by

In addition to this specific call, other more generic or complementary research calls by the central government or by the regional governments that can be used to fund research in NPs are opened yearly. One example of this is the multi-annual Spanish R + D + I Plan, which funds research projects that can be carried out in NPs through its two main lines: basic science (Excellence Call) and applied science (Societal Challenges Call). The Spanish R + D + I Plan 2013–2016 actually funded two projects on NPs and other PAs that will be mentioned in more

As a result of common research priorities identified in the 1999 NP Master Plan, the central and regional governments started developing, from 2008, a NP Monitoring and Assessment Plan. It was endorsed in 2011 and continued to develop according to the mandates in the Law 30/2014, on NPs, that confers the central government (through the OAPN) the competencies for: (1) monitoring and assessment of the NP Network, (2) communication and knowledge exchange among NPs, (3) promoting scientific research and dissemination, and (4) encouraging sustainable development in municipalities in NPs [10]. The NP Monitoring and

It assesses the global functioning, coherence and meeting of the overall objectives of the NP Network. It results in yearbooks (by NP and of the network) and in a 3-year report on the

It seeks to gather information on the state of conservation and ecological functioning of natural systems in the NP Network according to verified protocols and to assess the current status of biodiversity, its changes and future prospects in a context of global change. So far, the variables that are being monitored relate to forest health, plant phenology, climate change, ecosystem productivity, ecosystem structure, natural system cartography, common bird spe-

It studies the social effect of the NP Network on three target groups: local residents, visitors and the whole Spanish society. Indicators under this area refer to: social perception, socioeconomic data in municipalities included in NPs, effect of subsidies on those municipalities and

social impact of the Network (on scientists, PA managers and environmental NGOs).

the OAPN in NPs [13] (**Figure 3**).

108 National Parks - Management and Conservation

detail in this chapter: DISESGLOB and SOSTPARK.

Assessment Plan is structured in three areas:

cies, butterflies and marine environment.

*4.3.1. Functional monitoring*

status of the NP Network.

*4.3.2. Ecological monitoring*

*4.3.3. Sociological monitoring*

**4.3. Institutional assessments: monitoring programmes**

There are plenty of other studies on Spanish NPs carried out by universities and research centers every year—degree, master or PhD theses are examples of such short- or medium-term research effort developed in NPs-. Those studies help to better understand the environmental and socioeconomic status of NPs, although they rarely align with research priorities in NPs but rather with external aims or interests. Moreover, no standardized register of such research is kept and results are rarely put across to NP managers.

Even if the research done in PAs is in accordance to official needs, the results of those studies may be published but are seldom conveyed in an understandable manner to PA managers, yet substantial amounts of primary information (e.g. from internal monitoring programmes), services and/or permission are usually asked from managers by researchers from the onset. Sometimes, lack of collaboration comes from the managers' side [14]. This bi-directional information flow mismatch is common in PAs in Spain [8] and elsewhere [15] and results in that there exists much more valuable information on PAs than that at the disposal of managers and scientists. To prevent this mismatch and make Spanish NP managers aware of some of the most relevant research that affects their sites, the NP Master Plan of 2016 establishes the creation of a public-access research database where results of every authorized study in NPs are communicated to and stored by the OAPN (**Figure 4**).


**Figure 4.** Online national park research project searcher on the Spanish Ministry of Environment's website.
