TOWARDS A GLOBAL STRATEGY FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY OF THE PROVINCE OF CUENCA (SPAIN)

This paper comments on the necessity for environmental plans that go further than preserving the areas that are already protected by the enacted legislation. Already protected landscapes must be cushioned by buffer zones and connected by biological corridors. Moreover, the article states the necessary changes in some land use norms, to ensure sustainability and biodiversity preservation. GIS methods and remote sensed imagery were used to delineate buffer zones around the ten Red Natura 2000 protected areas in the NW of the province of Cuenca. Biological corridors were built along the drainage network. This ecological system expands 337,298 ha, i.e. the 55% of the total study area.