EVEN if it did not reach the top 10 in medals at Tokyo 2020, Spain gets the gold in a more tangible, long-lasting competition – that of nature, given that over 50% of Europe's species of animals are found in the country and more than 5% of those worldwide.
The Spanish Imperial Eagle (photo: Tatavasco via SEO/BirdLife)
It's no secret that Spain is a countryside-lover's paradise, with 16 National Parks, more mountainous than anywhere else in the EU and second only to Switzerland on the European continent, with almost every town being minutes away from an officially-protected nature reserve.
But exactly to what extent has appeared in black and white, via the environment ministry's natural heritage and biodiversity report, drawn up by independent experts.
It tells us that 56% of the EU's protected flora and fauna habitats live here, and over 85,000 species of both together – and praises the people of Spain as a whole for their 'heightened awareness' of their country's biodiversity in recent years.
A third of Spain's land is under conservation order
Conservation zones, under protection orders that mean they cannot be built on and rules are in place to allow them to thrive, have 'increased exponentially' in just over a decade: Back in 2009, an already-impressive 31% of Spain's land and 1% of its seas were under conservation orders, and the latter has multiplied to 12.3%.
By 2020, a total of 36.2% of Spain's land was under official protection, as National Parks, nature reserves or other ring-fenced green-belt areas; more than a third of the country.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com