MEDCONECTA: Enhancing spatial continuity of green infrastructure in south-east Spain
The MEDCONECTA project, supported by the Biodiversity Foundation and closing at the end of this year, launches a new website to share the resources produced in the context of the project, and promotes collaboration in combatting desertification.
A major focus of MEDCONECTA is addressing ecosystem and habitat fragmentation, a growing threat to ecosystems and communities across the Mediterranean. By bringing together knowledge and innovative solutions, the project aims to support collaborative efforts that restore degraded landscapes, enhance spatial continuity and promote sustainable land use. Focusing on the arid southeast of the Iberian Peninsula, specifically within the Autonomous Communities of Murcia, Valencia and Andalusia, MEDCONECTA seeks to delineate a continuous space that strengthens green infrastructure by maximising spatial continuity, particularly across administrative boundaries managed by different institutions.
Designing Green Corridors for the development of Nature-based Solutions
MEDCONECTA is a research project supported by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) of the Government of Spain, which aims to delineate green corridors across southeastern Spain that enhance potential continuity across unprotected landscapes between Natura 2000 sites, to support biodiversity and ecosystem functionality. The project seeks to improve knowledge and management of natural elements that could be integrated into green infrastructure and the development of Nature-based Solutions (NbS). Its findings will support the development of green corridors to strengthen ecosystem resilience in the Mediterranean arid arc.
By assessing conservation and restoration needs, MEDCONECTA will contribute to Spain’s National Strategy for Green Infrastructure and Connectivity and Ecological Restoration, as well as the EU’s future ecosystem restoration framework. The project aims to use the IUCN Global Standard for NbS to analyse social and environmental challenges, in order to identify potential restoration and management actions.
MEDCONECTA launches its new website
Collaboration is key to tackling the pressing environmental challenges our Mediterranean region faces. That is why MEDCONECTA is launching its new website - a digital space designed to connect people and share knowledge. With easy access to key resources, research, and best practices developed within the project, the platform aims to support more effective and informed environmental initiatives across the region.
The website features an interactive map showcasing the potential green corridors identified within the project, offering valuable insights into areas with high potential for maximising spatial continuity. Users can download a geomatic method including an algorithm and an environmental information system, explore project findings, and access a viewer on the potential functional links to connect Natura 2000 Sites of Community Importance based on land condition status.
Workshop on desertification: Working together for lasting solutions
On 19th February 2025, a workshop organised by the Biodiversity Foundation brought together experts from different fields to discuss practical strategies for land restoration and sustainable management. The event provided a space for sharing experiences from across projects on arid ecosystems in Spain, such as MEDCONECTA, highlighting the importance of combining scientific research, local knowledge and policy measures to address this critical issue.
The discussions underscored the urgency of acting against desertification and highlighted inspiring initiatives that could be replicated in other parts of the region. Among the key outcomes was the importance of generating data that are of practical use and can inform decision-making, as well as the need for complementarity between the different spatial resolutions of data generated by different projects, to contribute to more effective management on-the-ground. Thus, MEDCONECTA will continue to work to build synergies with other projects and explore opportunities to reuse data derived from the project, such as the algorithm, maximising its applicability for effective landscape management.
The MEDCONECTA website is now live. Visit the website to explore the maps developed within the project, contribute your knowledge, and collaborate on solutions that can make a difference.
With this new digital space, IUCN Med reaffirms its commitment to fostering regional collaboration and equipping stakeholders with the tools needed to protect the Mediterranean’s unique and fragile ecosystems. The project is led by IUCN and CSIC, in close collaboration with the regional authorities of the Region of Murcia, Generalitat Valenciana and Junta de Andalucía, whose support is essential in advancing interregional green infrastructure and promoting sustainable land management.
MEDCONECTA is supported by the Biodiversity Foundation of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) of the Government of Spain, within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR), funded by the European Union - NextGenerationEU.
