National Parks Autonomous Agency
| Organismo Autónomo de Parques Nacionales | |
 | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | June 23, 1995 |
| Preceding agencies |
|
| Type | Autonomous agency |
| Jurisdiction | Spanish government |
| Headquarters | 59 Hernani Street Madrid |
| Agency executive |
|
| Parent department | Ministry for the Ecological Transition |
| Website | Web SiteTemplate:Es icon |
The National Parks Autonomous Agency (OAPN) is an agency of the Spanish central government that manages the National Parks Network and the Spanish Biosphere Reserves Network, as well as mountains, farms and other patrimonial assets of its property. The agency was created in June 23, 1995 by the Agriculture Minister Luis María Atienza by merging two other agencies, the Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICONA) and the National Institute for Agrarian Reform and Development (IRYDA).[1]
The OAPN is an agency of the Spanish Ecological Transition Department. The Minister and the Secretary of State for Environment act as President and Vice President of the agency, respectively although the chief executive of the agency is the Director. The current director is Juan José Areces Maqueda, appointed on July 29, 2018.[2]
Powers
The National Parks Autonomous Agency is responsible for:[3]
- The formulation of the national policy regarding national parks.
- The dissemination and promotion of the image, values, and conservation model of national parks abroad.
- The planning and management of the natural spaces of state competence.
- The management of the mountains, farms and other assets assigned or their ownership.
- The coordination and promotion of the Man and the Biosphere Programme of UNESCO, as well as the promotion, coordination and support of the Biosphere Reserve Network.
- The support to the Ecological Transition Department's policies regarding biodiversity, conservation and sustainable use of natural resources, conservation of fauna, flora, habitat and natural ecosystems in the terrestrial and marine environment. In this sense, it has the same responsabilites in the Department's policies on education, information, awareness, training and public participation on environmental issues through the National Center for Environmental Education (CENEAM).
- The provision to the public of information and documentation services specialized in protected areas, nature conservation, dissemination, communication and environmental education.
- The cooperation with public and private entities, both national (state, regional and local) and international, for the development of the previous functions.
History
 | This section is in a state of significant expansion or restructuring. You are welcome to assist in its construction by editing it as well. This template was placed by User:TheRichic. If this section has not been edited in several days, please remove this template. If you are the editor who added this template and you are actively editing, please be sure to replace this template with {{in use}} during the active editing session. Click on the link for template parameters to use.
This article was last edited by TheRichic (talk | contribs) 5 years ago. (Update timer) |
The first National Parks Act was passed on December 8, 1916. This law was one of the very first in Europe dedicated to the protection of nature and it consisted in just three articles. The law, defined the national parks as "those exceptionally picturesque, forested or rugged sites or places of the national territory, which the State consecrates, declaring them such, with the sole purpose of favoring their access through adequate means of communication, and respecting and to ensure that the natural beauty of its landscapes, the richness of its fauna and its flora and the geological and hydrological participles that they enclose are respected, thus avoiding with the greatest efficiency any act of destruction, deterioration or disfigurement by the hand of the man".[4] The first two national parks to be created were the Covadonga Mountain National Park (current Picos de Europa National Park) and the Ordesa Valley National Park (currently named Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park).[5]
From 1918 to 1954, the National Parks Network was integrated by those two parks. In 1954, two places of the Canary Islands were granted with the rank of national parks, the Teide National Park[6] and the Caldera de Taburiente National Park.[7] A year later, the Aiguas Tortas y Lago de San Mauricio National Park was created.[8]
Directors
| No. | Name | Term of office | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start | End | ||
| 1 | Jesús Casas Grande | July 15, 1995 | January 26, 1996 |
| 2 | Antonio J. Troya Panduro | March 29, 1996 | September 10, 1996 |
| 3 | Alberto Ruiz del Portal Mateos | September 10, 1996 | October 2, 1999 |
| 4 | Basilio Rada Martínez | July 25, 2000 | June 8, 2004 |
| 5 | Juan Garay Zabala | July 30, 2004 | June 5, 2009 |
| 6 | José Jiménez García-Herrera | June 5, 2009 | December 30, 2009 |
| 7 | Olga Baniandrés | December 30, 2009 | November 18, 2011 |
| 8 | Basilio Rada Martínez | February 2012 | July 19, 2018 |
| 9 | Juan José Areces Maqueda | July 19, 2018 | Incumbent |
National Parks Network
The National Parks Network (RPN) is a system established to protect and manage some Spanish Natural Heritage with the category of national park. The RPN is integrated by 15 national parks and all the staff and administrations that are part of it.
Committees
The agency has two committees for a better coordination of the National Parks Network and to advise the agency.
National Parks Collaboration and Coordination Committee
Integrated in the General State Administration there is a National Parks Collaboration and Coordination Committee. This committee aims to deepen collaboration and coordination mechanisms, study possible common effects, reconcile the implementation of programs and actions in national parks, exchange information and experiences, and facilitate the dissemination of knowledge between the national parks administrations.[9] The committee is chaired by the Director of the National Parks Agency and it is integrated by the administrators of the national parks, twelve representatives of the agency and the administrators of the centers and other properties of the agency. The Deputy Director of the agency is also a member of the committee and it is the deputy chair of it.[10]
National Parks Scientific Committee
The Scientific Committee is the body of the OAPN in charge of scientifically advising on any question that may be raised from the Office of the Director of the Autonomous Agency, at the initiative of this or at the request of the national parks administrations.[9] The Director and Deputy Director who are the chair and deputy chair, respectively, are part of the committee. In addition to these, the committee is also integrated by twenty members appointed by the director for a four-year term.[10]
References
- ^ "Royal Decree 1055/1995, of June 23, which partially modifies the basic organic structure of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food". www.boe.es. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Juan José Areces, director del Organismo Autónomo Parques Nacionales". www.efeverde.com. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
- ^ "Royal Decree 864/2018, of July 13, which develops the basic organic structure of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition". boe.es. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Spanish National Parks Act of December 7, 1916" (PDF). www.boe.es. 8 December 1916. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Royal Decree of August 16, 1918 creating the National Park of the Ordesa Valley or the Ava River and the Covadonga National Park". www.boe.es. Retrieved 2019-10-10.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Decree of January 22, 1954, creating the Teide National Park (Canary Islands)". www.boe.es. Retrieved 2019-10-10.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Decree of October 6, 1954, creating the National Park of the "Caldera de Taburiente", in the island of La Palma, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife". www.boe.es. Retrieved 2019-10-10.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Decree of October 21, 1955 creating the "Parque Nacional de Aiguas Tortas y Lago de San Mauricio", in the province of Lleida". www.boe.es. Retrieved 2019-10-10.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b "National Parks Act of December 3, 2014". www.boe.es. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b "Order of the Environement Minister which establishes the composition, functions and operation of the National Parks Collaboration and Coordination Committee, the Coordination Commissions and the National Parks Scientific Committee". boe.es. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)