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FERNANDO TORRES
Friday, 16 February 2018, 12:55
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The central government has given the green light to the proposal put forward by the Junta de Andalucía to declare the Sierra de las Nieves a national park, the highest level of protection given to areas of environmental importance in Spain.
The area, located inland from the Costa del Sol towards Ronda, will be the 16th area with national park status in Spain and the third in Andalucía, after the Sierra Nevada and Doñana. The Sierra de las Nieves has until now been protected as a 'parque natural' and a Unesco biosphere reserve.
The approval given at last Friday's cabinet meeting in Madrid will mean greater investment in nature conservation as well as the protection the area's traditions.
Final red tape
There is still a further administrative process to get through before the park starts to reap the benefits. The decision made by the cabinet now has to go through a public information period and analysis before it can be finally turned into a law with the approval of both houses of parliament, the Congreso and the Senado.
The campaign to protect the Sierra de las Nieves dates back to 1934. However, it wasn't until 1989 that it was officially designated a 'natural park' and in 1995 it became a Unesco biosphere reserve.
The area to be protected covers 23,000 hectares across parts of the municipalities of Yunquera, Tolox, Ronda, Parauta, Istán and Benahavís.
According to the central government's Environment minister, Isabel García Tejerina, the Sierra de las Nieves complies with the legal criteria to be upgraded to a national park. It has a relevant proportion of species and natural communities of the systems represented, she said.
The declaration will afford the area complete protection from construction, guarantee its future maintenance and support the socio-economic development of the surrounding area.
Following last Friday's cabinet decision, the Junta de Andalucía has approved an interim plan to increase the protection of the area until the law is passed. The measures will prohibit any action that alters the current characteristics of the park.
Meanwhile the campaign continues to include the Sierra Bermeja mountains, closer to Estepona, in the area protected as a national park.
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