RT Journal Article
T1 Moderate effectiveness of multiple-use protected areas as a policy tool for land conservation in Atlantic Spain in the past 30 years
A1 Rodriguez-Rodriguez, David
A1 Ruiz-Sinoga, José Damián
K1 Suelo - Uso
K1 Espacios naturales protegidos
AB Protected areas (PAs) are the main global policy instrument to avert the current biodiversity crisis by conservingimportant species and habitats on site. Yet important pressures around PAs and in PAs, notably land use-landcover (LULC) changes, jeopardise the conservation role of these tools. In Spain, as well as in most developedcountries, land development is the main pressure on its rich biodiversity. Here, we used a semi-experimentalBefore-After-Control-Impact (BACI) research design with covariates to ascertain whether three categories ofmultiple-use PAs including Nature Parks, Sites of Community Importance (SCIs) and Special Protection Areas(SPAs) have been effective to prevent land development in Atlantic Spain between 1987 and 2017 using CORINELand Cover (CLC) data. We split our census sample of PAs according to two geographic zones: coastal zone andinland zone, and four administrative sub-zones (regions with distinctive governance systems): Galicia, Asturias,Cantabria and the Basque Country. We created and tested the validity of three types of controls specific to eachPA category: standard 5-km buffer controls, bio-physically adjusted standard controls, and bio-physicallyadjusted random controls across zones. Multiple-use PAs reduced, though not completely avoided, land developmentin all zones and sub-zones compared with controls. An effectiveness gradient among PA categories wasapparent: NPs ≥ SCIs > SPAs. Coastal areas, both protected and unprotected, experienced greater land developmentrates than inland areas, with coastal SPAs showing poor effectiveness results. The Basque Country wasthe best-performing region regarding PA effectiveness, with the remaining regions showing similar PA performanceresults regardless of the prevailing political party in power for most of the study period. Random controlshad the greatest bio-physical similarity to their cases and produced larger control areas than standard buffercontrols.
PB Elsevier Ltd.
YR 2021
FD 2021
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10630/23049
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10630/23049
LA eng
NO D. Rodríguez-Rodríguez, J.D. Sinoga, Moderate effectiveness of multiple-use protected areas as a policy tool for land conservation in Atlantic Spain in the past 30 years, Land Use Policy, Volume 112, 2022, 105801, ISSN 0264-8377
DS RIUMA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Málaga
RD 22 ene 2026