… a set of places to protect Europe’s most representative flora, fauna and ecosystems,whilst also enhancing the well-being and quality of life of those who live in them.

… Basque society’s chief contribution to the conservation of biodiversity in the world.

… an alliance between people and nature which supports sustainable development inunderprivileged areas, helping maintain traditional activities which favour biodiversity,and permits all economic activity which does not pose a danger to it.

Biodiversity provides us with resources and services on which our quality of lifedepends: food, raw materials, medicine,water purification, crop pollination, generation of soil, pest control, purificationof the atmosphere, climate regulation, etc.

Conserving our landscapes and the diversityof plant and animal species that inhabit them means conserving the legacy left to usby our forefathers and our signs of identity,as well as ensuring our well-being.

Deciduous forests which used tooccupy a large part of the Basque

Country and help slow down global warming.

Mountain pastures rich in wild plants which support traditional farming.

Rivers full of life and riverbank woods whichregulate water levels,purify the water and provide a home for ourmost threatened species offlora and fauna.

The Atlantic countryside is,without doubt, one of thesigns of identity of theBasque territory and a fineexample of the fruitful relationship between people and Biodiversity.

The land-sea relationship in the BasqueCountry is historical and a source of basicfood supplies.

Wetlands are the most productiveecosystems in the world. They offer shelterto a large part of our Biodiversity and provide us with extremely important environmental services, such as reducingthe effects of floods.