Paleontological remains indicate that one and a half million years ago, the Iberian lynx roamed throughout the Iberian Peninsula. However, little by little its territory was reduced to a handful of scattered areas in Extremadura, southern Portugal and Andalusia. The Lynx pardinus is an endemic species that typically inhabits the Mediterranean forest environment and is one of the world’s four lynx species, along with the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), found in northern Europe and much of Asia; the Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), found in North America; and the bobcat or red lynx (Lynx rufus), found in southern Canada, the USA and northern Mexico. 

They are all classified as ‘Least Concern’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with the exception of the Iberian lynx, which suffered a drastic fall in numbers from the 1960s onwards and especially during the 1980s and 1990s. Moreover, the sparse historical records indicate that the population was not particularly large to begin with. This was the conclusion reached by the first experts who called attention to the species’ plight, as a result of which it was declared “Critically Endangered” in 1986. By the turn of the 21st century there were less than 100 individuals and the species was considered all but disappeared. 

However, the Spanish central government and regional administrations, along with the Portuguese government and various public and private organisations, institutions and NGOs, were able to join forces and respond. 1999 saw the approval of the National Strategy for the Iberian Lynx, based on the creation of ex situ captive breeding centres to produce animals that could subsequently be released into the wild. The first such centre, El Acebuche, was opened in 1992 in Doñana National Park. At present there are five of these centres: three in Andalusia (El Acebuche, La Olivilla in Jaén and the Zoobotánico in Jerez de la Frontera), one in Extremadura (Zarza de Granadilla, in Cáceres) and another in Portugal (Centro de Silves). 

At the same time, action was taken to protect and restore the Mediterranean forest environment and rabbit populations. This latter species, which is currently the focus of another recovery programme (LIFE Iberconejo), is a vital food source not only for lynx but also for around 40 other species, including the Spanish imperial eagle (also threatened).

In addition to the organisational difficulties, there were also scientific challenges arising from the conservation of such a small –and therefore genetically limited– population. The European LIFE programme provided over half of the funding for successive projects which, two decades later, achieved a miracle. 

The ex situ programme has led to the formation of 12 lynx populations in the Spanish autonomous communities of Andalusia, Castilla La Mancha and Extremadura, plus another two in Portugal. In 2020, the symbolic figure of 1,000 individuals was exceeded following a record number of births, while the latest data in May 2021 revealed a population of over 1,100 animals. 

The next target is outlined in the LynxConnect project, which has been approved by the European Commission and will run until 2024. The aim is to link up these population centres safely while combating poaching, illegal hunting and the risk of vehicular injury, which has caused the death of at least 150 of these precious animals since 2002. Facilitating the natural mobility of lynxes will make it possible to unify the population and increase genetic diversity, which is key to saving the species. In 2019, the experts in the Lynx Working Group calculated that this will only be possible (and even then, the species would remain vulnerable) if by 2040 the current population has tripled to between 3,000 and 3,500 individuals, of which around 750 must be breeding females.

Hope for Iberian wildlife

Over the last 25 years, Spain –which is home to more than 85,000 species of animals, plants and fungi– has managed to save its so-called “big five” endemic species from extinction (although they remain vulnerable): the Iberian lynx, brown bear, imperial eagle, bearded vulture and Iberian wolf. 

• The example of the bearded vulture (Gypaetus barbatus) is similar to that of the lynx: 25 years ago there were just 30 breeding pairs of this enormous carrion-feeder, whose wingspan can exceed three metres. Today, it has a population in excess of 1,000 and can be found in the southern Pyrenees, the Sierra de Moncayo in Aragón and the Sierra de Cazorla in Jaén (Andalusia), which is home to at least five pairs. It has also been reintroduced to the Picos de Europa, and there are plans to bring the species back to the Sierra de Gredos (Ávila) in 2022. 

Bearded vulture. / PHOTO_F. QUEBRANTAHUESOS

• The Spanish imperial eagle (Aquila adalberti) is considered one of the world’s most threatened birds of prey. By the late 1970s there were fewer than 50 breeding pairs left; however, that figure has since grown to more than 600. 

Spanish imperial eagle. / PHOTO_CAM

• Another success story is the Cantabrian brown bear (Ursus arctos pyrenaicus). Two decades ago there were barely 50 individuals left in the wild; now there are 330, mostly found in western Asturias, with another 30 in northern León, Palencia and southern Cantabria and a number of others in the Pyrenees of Huesca and Catalonia.

Cantabrian brown bear. / PHOTO_NEUSITAS (WIKIPEDIA)

• With regard to the Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus), there are estimated to be around 300 packs, together accounting for 2,000-2,500 individuals. Practically extinct in southern Spain, 95% of its population is concentrated in Asturias, Cantabria, Galicia and Castilla y León, where numbers have recovered since the 1990s. The species is now expanding north of the River Duero. As its territories are shared with human activities such as livestock farming, the wolf’s conservation is controversial and requires not only protective measures (in early 2021 the government added it to the List of Wild Species Subject to Special Protection, effectively imposing a hunting ban) but also support for the activities affected: in 2020 alone, for example, around 2,600 farm animals were lost through attacks by wolves. Conservation organisations such as the WWF campaign for coexistence and recommend compensatory and preventive measures, such as rapid payments for farmers in the event of attacks, the use of electrified fences and mastiff dogs, the reintroduction of shepherds and the promotion of extensive livestock farming, among others.

Iberian wolf. / PHOTO_SUSO MARTÍN (CENTRO DEL LOBO IBÉRICO)

portrait of a natural treasure

Iberian lynx. / PHOTO_FRANK VASSEN (FLICKR)

The Iberian lynx is the smallest of the four lynx species, with an average weight of around 14 kilos. It is a solitary animal that is usually active at dusk and is characterised by its tufted ears and ruff, along with its spotted coat, whose patterns are unique to each individual. From an ecological perspective, its role as an apex predator at the top of the food chain also makes it an “umbrella species”, as it controls the numbers of smaller predator species and reduces the pressure on the main prey species, the European rabbit, which is also the main food source for other species such as the Spanish imperial eagle. The Iberian lynx has gone from being a virtually unknown species to a national symbol of conservation, a magnet for nature tourism, and an international success story that has been hailed by the IUCN and awoken interest in conservation programmes for other threatened feline species, such as the snow leopard (India, Mongolia) and the Florida panther (USA).

With 48.3 organ donors per million population in 2018, Spain is very near to reaching the goal of 50 donors per million, along with the aim of performing 5,500 transplants per year by 2022. This is double the average for the European Union and higher than the United States (32.8). These figures are testament to the success of a system that was first developed 30 years ago, when the country barely had 15 donors per million population.

The WHO estimates that 5-10% of transplants involve illegal organ trafficking: in order to combat this trade, Spain has successfully submitted a number of resolutions for approval by the United Nations

Today, the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations and the Council of Europe all promote the adoption of the Spanish model in other countries as an alternative to organ trafficking and “transplant tourism”. (In Spain, only Spanish citizens or legally resident foreigners can receive transplants.) Within the European Union, the model has been implemented –either fully or partially– in Croatia, Italy, France, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Austria; while in the rest of the world, countries such as Australia and Canada have incorporated elements of the system. Additionally, for the last 15 years Spain has operated a training and advisory network in Latin America, where both donation and transplantation rates have increased in every country.

Since 2006, Spain has worked with the WHO to manage the International Registry of Organ Donation and Transplantation, according to which around two million people per year require a transplant, although just 145,000 are performed. / PHOTO_HOSPITAL CLÍNIC BARNA (A. CREUS y Á. GARCÍA)

The Spanish model began to take shape in 1989, with the passing of a law based on the principles of complete anonymity and altruism on the part of the donor and their family, full respect for their wishes, and absolute equality in the distribution of available organs to transplant patients, in accordance with medical criteria. Additionally, so-called “encephalic death” was declared the scientific, legal and ethical equivalent of “traditional” death. Encephalic death also has to be diagnosed by a separate medical team that is not involved with the transplantation.

A race against time

The law, which was implemented in the years that followed, also established the creation of the National Transplant Organisation (Organización Nacional de Trasplantes, ONT), part of the Ministry of Health. Since then, this body has been responsible for managing and coordinating a dual process, which starts by identifying potential donors in hospitals (via a coordinator or dedicated team, depending on the size of the hospital), obtaining the family’s consent, and commencing the urgent process of extracting, storing and transporting the organs to the hospital where the transplant will take place. While this is going on, compatible recipients are located and transferred to the hospital. It is a race against time, as the window before the organs start to deteriorate, known as ischemia time, is just a few hours long. The shortest window, for hearts and lungs, is three to four hours, and a little longer for kidneys (the most frequently transplanted organ). For this reason, and although medical considerations and the severity of the patient’s case are always the predominant criteria, geography is also taken into account in order to minimise the distance travelled and prevent the organs from deteriorating. The exception is so-called “urgency level zero”, when a patient is so critical they have absolute priority on a nationwide basis.

Tribute to all transplant professionals by the city of Madrid. / PHOTO_MADRID CITY COUNCIL

Although, according to the ONT, 10% of patients still die while awaiting a transplant, in the last 30 years more than 51,000 Spaniards have donated organs –including over 5,000 living donors of kidneys or livers– and more than 116,000 transplants have been performed.

According to the Ministry of Health, today nine out of ten Spanish families consent to the donation of organs, each of which literally adds years (the ONT estimates between 31 and 56 years, depending on the number of organs) to the lives of the patients that receive them.

In 1983, a highly successful video game called Bugaboo, also known in its various versions as The Flea, known as La Pulga in Spain, was published in the UK and later in the USA. It soon reached number one in the specialised games press. Created by two programmers from Extremadura, it is currently considered the first major milestone in the development of entertainment software in Spain, which is now one of the top 10 biggest players in the sector in the world and the fifth largest in Europe in terms of turnover.

La Pulga, which today gives its name to the Spanish national industry awards, was followed during the 1980s and early 1990s by other well-received productions such as Sir Fred, Livingstone Supongo (both in 1986), La Abadía del Crimen (1987, inspired by the film The Name of the Rose), Commandos, PC Fútbol and many more. All of them gave rise to what is known today as the ‘golden age’ of Spanish gaming, which ended in the early 1990s with the arrival of 16-bit technology.

A growing area of activity is that of serious games, which are being developed by around a quarter of Spanish companies in the sector. These are not intended for entertainment, but rather are designed for educational or training purposes

After a hiatus of a few years, with the turn of the century and the digital revolution, a resurgence began within the sector. In 2010, Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, developed by the Madrid-based studio MercurySteam, was released. The Japanese firm Konami selected them from a number of other American and Japanese proposals to redesign and revamp their product. The result was a mega-production with a budget of 20 million euros, which led to two sequels and became a worldwide critical and commercial success, marking a milestone for the sector in Spain. This is a sector that has experienced sustained growth over the last ten years, both in terms of turnover and business networks, although there is still a great deal of room for further expansion.

According to data from the Spanish video game development association DEV, in 2019, entertainment software production companies –some 400 in total, most of them small and concentrated mainly in Catalonia and Madrid, and to a lesser extent in Valencia and Andalusia– had a turnover of 920 million euros, 13% more than the previous year, 66% of which came from foreign sales. The fact that the main distribution channel is via global platforms on the Internet, mainly Steam, where 83% of Spanish studios make their sales, facilitates the process. According to DEV, physical sales account for only 4% of the total. North America (28%) and Europe (23%) are the main buyers of Spanish video games.

DEV forecasts annual turnover growth of 17% to EUR 1.7 billion by 2023. In terms of employment, the current workforce of just over 7,100 will rise to 8,500 direct jobs.

Indie games

In contrast to global and large-scale video games, the Spanish industry is characterised by the quality of its independent productions, which enjoy great international acclaim due to the originality of their game dynamics and aesthetics. Among the most recent, some of the most successful are Temtem known as the Spanish Pokémon, by Madrid-based studio Crema Games, which sold half a million units on Steam in its first month; or Blasphemous (2019), by The Game Kitchen from Seville, which mixes the folklore of southern Spain with action adventures and combat to the rhythm of guitar and saeta (a popular song typical of Easter), which has already reached one million players on Steam.

Among the best-selling, most-played and award-winning games of the last few years are They are billions, set in a zombie apocalypse designed by Madrid studio Numantian Games, which reached 15th place worldwide in January 2018 on Twitch; Gris, by Barcelona-based Nomada Studios, an intimate story with watercolour aesthetics, which received numerous awards and achieved an average rating of outstanding on the Steam platform; and The red strings club (2018), cyberpunk adventure game by Valencian studio Deconstructeam.

Esports: Beyond screens

League of Legends Smifinal, Vistalegre 2019. / PHOTO_RIOT GAMES

The video game sector’s growth is not only limited to software development, but also encompasses other activities with a high economic impact, such as esports: these are official and professional competitions for various battle and strategy video games, such as League of Legends (LoL), DOTA 2 (short for Defence of the Ancients 2), Fortnite, or Cs:Go (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive). All of them draw audiences numbering in the millions, not only online via streaming (live) on platforms such as Amazon-owned Twitch, but also, until the pandemic hit, face-to-face. That is to say, with audiences flocking to large venues to watch their favourite teams and players perform live. Spain has hosted some of these competitions, such as the 2018 final and the quarter and semi-finals of the League of Legends World Championship, held in November 2019 at the Palacio de Vistalegre in Madrid, which was attended by 8,000 live spectators, and another 1.7 million online during the two weeks of matches.

Esports in Spain generated 35 million euros in 2019, 22.5 million in advertising, which together with sponsorships are the main sources of revenue, according to the Spanish Video Game Association (AEVI). The sector employs 600 people, of which 250 are professional players, and Spain represents approximately 4% of the world’s esports economy, has 2.9 million fans –of which 55% are over 25 years old– and ranks 12th in the world in terms of esports audience share, which is mostly online, as well as having the highest percentage of female fans in Europe at 36%.

Spain boasts nearly 8,000 kilometres of coastline and offers sea-lovers an enormous variety of nautical installations and activities, from basic services in small harbours, to exclusive luxury marinas equipped with every amenity imaginable. According to data from the Spanish Federation of Marinas and Tourist Associations (FEAPDT), Spain is currently home to around 300 marinas, which offer a total of 130,000 berths. The largest number are concentrated in the Mediterranean region, particularly in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, although Valencia and Andalusia are also popular locations and, together with Galicia, they account for approximately 78% of the total.

In absolute terms, the record is held by the marina at Empuriabrava (Province of Girona), a resort town on the mouth of the River Muga that has 14,000 homes, 23 kilometres of canals and 5,000 berths. It was built in the 1960s, when the Spanish tourist industry was starting to take off.

Over half of Spain’s marinas are small, with fewer than 300 berths, while those in areas such as the bays around Palma de Mallorca and Cádiz, the Alicante coast and the county of Maresme in Catalonia each boast around 1,500 berths.

Almost eight out of ten marinas are managed by private companies via concessions, or by sailing clubs: non-profit organisations with a focus on sporting and leisure activities. The rest are publicly owned, in full or in part, by either the national, regional or local government.

The seven islands that make up the Canary Islands archipelago have a long-standing maritime tradition owing to their strategic location and the influence of the trade winds. They have 40 well-equipped marinas, ranging from large facilities, such as Las Palmas marina in Gran Canaria, with over 1,000 berths; Pasito Blanco in the south, in the tourist district of Maspalomas; and Puerto Calero in Lanzarote, down to the very smallest on the island of El Hierro, with just 120 berths, although it can accommodate vessels of up to 30 metres. Also of note are Tazacorte in La Palma, Los Gigantes in Tenerife
(located next to the cliffs of the same name) and El Castillo in Fuerteventura.

In Murcia, one of the best-known marinas is Tomás Maestre in La Manga del Mar Menor, which has space for 1,800 vessels up to 30 metres in length and two quays for superyachts. The region is also home to the Yacht Port in Cartagena.

Spain’s northern and north-western coasts, bordering on the Cantabrian Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, offer a number of attractive installations such as the Marina del Cantábrico in Santander, with 1,300 berths, as well as smaller harbours such as Laredo and Santoña. In Asturias, the largest marina is in Gijón, with almost 800 berths, while the largest facilities in the Basque Country are those at Getxo and Hondarribia. In Galicia, marinas of note include Sanxenxo and Baiona in Pontevedra and Sada in A Coruña, all of which offer 300-400 berths. Since 2016, North Marinas, the association of marinas for northern Spain, has offered the opportunity to do the Camino de Santiago by sea. However, pilgrims must only use sails, travel a minimum of 100 nautical miles, and walk the last 10 kilometres to the Cathedral on foot. The credencial, or pilgrim’s passport, can be stamped in all of the marinas.

The marinas in the Balearic Islands organise internationally renowned sailing competitions, such as: the Copa del Rey de Vela, the Trofeo Ciutat de Palma, and the Copa del Rey for historic vessels in Mahón. Other major sporting events include the Trofeo de la Reina (Valencia), the Christmas Race (Palamós) and the Trofeo Príncipe de Asturias (Baiona).

The Spanish coast is filled with charming ports: in Menorca, for example, there is a marina in Ciutadella’s historic quarter and another in Mahón, which at six kilometres long is one of the largest natural harbours in the world. Mogán, in Gran Canaria, is known as “Little Venice” for its many canals, while El Rompido marina in Cartaya (Huelva Province) is an unusual river harbour located inside a natural park. Puerto Marina in Benalmádena (Málaga Province) is characterised by its picturesque architecture that blends Indian, Arabic and Andalusian styles; the marina at Combarro in Pontevedra stands out for its traditional hórreos, or granaries; while Port de la Selva (Girona Province) is a natural harbour lying below a quiet, whitewashed seaside town in the heart of the Costa Brava.

Following the arrival of the Moors to the Iberian Peninsula across the Straits of Gibraltar in 711, a long period of nearly eight centuries known as the ‘Reconquista’ began, during which the Christian kingdoms advanced southwards from the north, slowly gaining territory. This period ended with the victory of the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon, over the last redoubt of the Moors, the Kingdom of Granada in 1492, the year of the Discovery of America, which marks the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Modern Age. Up to that point, from the seventh century, the advance of the original kingdoms in Spain, starting from what is now Asturias, left its mark on the landscape in the form of a multitude of defensive constructions and overlooks: towers, walls, fortresses and, above all, castles.

In the meantime, the Moors also built their own palaces, such as the Alcazar in Seville (tenth century) and the eleventh-century Aljaferia in Zaragoza. Some of the most notable fortifications include the alcazabas or walled citadels, for both residential and defensive purposes, and built inside towns, such as those of Almería, Mérida, Tarifa, Badajoz, Málaga and Calatrava la Vieja (in Ciudad Real).

All castles, regardless of their state of conservation, are protected by law under the National Heritage Act, which prohibits their destruction.

In a mediaeval context, with a largely rural, feudal society with still emergent monarchies, castles, often built on the sites of old Roman forts, were refuges for nobles and peasants during long sieges. The emergence of artillery at the start of the fifteenth century completely transformed military tactics and strategy. Castles lost their original purpose.

The most characteristic architectural features of a mediaeval castle are: an elevated site, a walled enclosure with bailey, lodgings, stables, cisterns and other outbuildings; and the Tribute Tower, absent from Moorish forts. A beautiful example is La Mota Castle, in Valladolid, standing 40 metres high, or the Moorish Burgalimar Castle, in Baños de la Encina (Jaén), with additions by the Christians after the capture of the castle at the beginning of the thirteenth century.

Spanish castles usually also had a moat (Coca Castle, Segovia); metal-reinforced gates, portcullises, barbicans or outer walls, and drawbridges. Walls and towers had battlements for archers and other defensive features such as machicolations (projections from the top of the walls to give an advantage to defenders).

These buildings were so importance that one of the old Christian kingdoms, the Crown of Castille, was named after them, as are today’s autonomous regions of Castilla y Leon and Castilla-La Mancha and the city and province of Castellón. The names of many of today’s towns and villages incorporate ‘castillo’ (castle) or a word related in some way to castles –like torre (tower), torrejón (dungeon/tower), etc.– or their Arabic equivalents: alcalá, alcázar, alcocer, etc. The case is similar with the surname Castillo, which is number 44 of the 100 most common according to the Spanish National Statistical Institute.

Unlike many castles in central Europe, owned by feudal lords, castles in mediaeval Spain tended to be owned by the Monarchy and were governed by a warden appointed by the king. From the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, monarchs entrusted the defence of castles to noble families (Manzanares el Real, Madrid) or to military orders, like the Knights of St John (Peñarroya in Argamasilla de Alba, Ciudad Real; Consuegra, in Toledo) and the Knights Templar (Ponferrada Castle, in León) who also built Peñíscola Castle in Castellón.

With three coastal areas –Cantabrian, Atlantic and Mediterranean– and more than 7,900 kilometres of coastline, Spain ranks 14th in the world and 3rd in Europe in terms of kilometres of coastline, thanks to its geographical location and its two archipelagos, the Balearic and the Canary Islands. The so-called ‘blue economy’ is especially important for Spain, the leading fishing producer in the European Union with 20% of production and almost a quarter of its fleet. In terms of aquaculture, Spain ranks 20th in the world, according to 2019 data from the Spanish Aquaculture Business Association, APROMAR. Today, in the face of the global threat of climate change, overexploitation of marine resources and pollution of the seas and oceans, research and protection of the marine environment are more vital than ever.

The main oceanographic research centres in Spain are organised around two large public institutions at the national level: the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO), created in 1914, and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), which was founded in 1939 as the state agency for scientific research and technological development, which deals with marine research in the field of Natural Resources.

With more than one hundred years of history, the Spanish Oceanographic Institute has its headquarters in Madrid, in addition to nine research centres located in A Coruña, the Balearic Islands (Palma), Cadiz, the Canary Islands (Tenerife), Gijón, Málaga, Murcia, Santander and Vigo; five aquaculture experimentation plants, 12 tide measurement stations, a satellite image reception station (in the Santander oceanographic centre) and a fleet of some twenty vessels. It also has an unmanned submarine capable of operating at a depth of over 2,000 metres, the ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle) LIROPUS 2000. The Institute represents Spain at the majority of international scientific and technological forums and is the Government’s official advisor on fishery. It carries out its research in three areas: fishery resources, aquaculture and the study and protection of the marine environment, and it currently has more than 270 projects underway.

The IEO’s aquaculture plants have achieved ground-breaking milestones, such as the world’s first successful breeding of the common octopus in captivity, at the Vigo Oceanographic Centre in 2018. The Murcia Oceanographic Centre, located in the town of Mazarrón, includes a scientific facility classified as “unique” by the Spanish government: the Infrastructure for Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Aquaculture (ICAR), the only one in the world for this species. It consists of the Aquaculture Plant and the Installation for the Control of the Reproduction of Atlantic bluefin tuna (ICRA). The plant in the Canary Islands focuses on the cultivation of marine fish and cephalopods, while the El Bocal plant in Santander is the largest facility in Spain dedicated to the cultivation of algae for human consumption.

On the other hand, the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), within its field of Natural Resources, has several different Institutes, which operate in an autonomous and decentralised manner, and the Marine Technology Unit, which manages and provides support to the oceanographic fleet and Spain’s two polar bases.

The Institute of Marine Science of Barcelona, the largest marine research centre in Spain, is one of the CSIC’s most important institutes.  Two research groups from this centre are taking part in MOSAIC, the largest scientific expedition in the Arctic in history. The project, promoted by a German institution, was launched in September 2019, with researchers from 20 countries participating aboard the German icebreaker Polarstern, to spend a year studying global warming. Vigo is also the headquarters of the CSIC’s Institute for Marine Research, which among its recent achievements has managed to successfully breed the endangered seahorse in captivity.

Other CSIC centres in Spain include the Institute of Torre de la Sal in Torreblanca, Castellón, and the Institute of Marine Sciences of Andalusia, in Cadiz, specialising in aquaculture; the Centre for Advanced Studies of Blanes, Girona, and the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA) in Mallorca, a centre run jointly with the University of the Balearic Islands to research ‘global change’ (the impact of human activity on the biosphere) and develop instruments for marine research. It also participates in another unique element of scientific infrastructure, the SOCIB or Balearic Islands Coastal Observing and Forecasting System, which collects and provides valuable data for maritime rescue, among other applications.

In 2010, the CSIC led the largest Spanish oceanographic expedition up to that point. Named Malaspina in honour of Spanish Navy frigate captain Alejandro Malaspina (1754-1810), it covered 75,000 kilometres in nine months, with more than 250 researchers on board the oceanographic vessels Hespérides and Sarmiento de Gamboa. The project researched different phenomena that affect the marine environment in deep waters and in three oceans (warming, acidification, deoxygenation, pollution, marine microorganisms, fish population, etc.) and collected more than 200,000 samples, some from depths of up to 4,000 metres, with almost 20,000 of these forming part of a bank that will remain sealed for 30 years for future study.

In addition to the research centres, since 2016, Spain has also had the innovative infrastructure of the Canary Islands Oceanic Platform (PLOCAN), managed by a consortium formed by the central government and the Regional Government of the Canary Islands. Located in Telde, Gran Canaria, it is one of the largest installation of its kind in Europe. Its main facility is an ocean platform located one and a half miles from the coast, in a reserved area of 23 km² that is used as a test bed. It is equipped with marine drones and other state-of-the-art equipment, and is currently carrying out, among other things, projects related to marine renewable energy, climate change, water desalination, use of coastal resources, cetacean conservation, marine noise pollution, and robotics and innovation for marine research.

Spain’s bases in Antarctica

Spain’s Juan Carlos I Antarctic Base. / PHOTO_CSIC

The two Spanish bases at the South Pole are located in the South Shetland Archipelago and are only operational during the four months of the southern summer. The Spanish Polar Committee coordinates their activities, while logistics is the responsibility of the Marine Technology Unit of the Spanish National Research Council. The Juan Carlos I Base, opened in 1988, is located on the Hurd Peninsula of Livingston Island, about 20 miles from the Spanish base Gabriel de Castilla, which opened in 1989. Located on Deception Island, it is under the responsibility of the Spanish Army and the CSIC for scientific management. Both bases conduct research on geology, biology, glaciers, atmosphere, chemistry, human impact, communications engineering, meteorology, climate change, volcanology, geodesy, hydrography and oceanography.

Spain’s oceanographic fleet

The oceanographic vessel, Hesperides. / PHOTO_CSIC

Since 2013, Spain has unified the management of its oceanographic research fleet (attached to the IEO or CSIC) under the FLOTPOL unit. Part of this fleet is classified as Unique Scientific and Technical Infrastructure (ICTS).  It is made up of a total of 10 oceanographic vessels, including the Spanish Navy’s Hespérides, which is 82.5 metres long. Based in Cartagena (Murcia), the vessel was put into service in 1991 and was completely overhauled between 2003 and 2004. It has completed more than 120 campaigns in the Antarctic, in the Arctic and in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, and collaborates on the support for Spain’s two Antarctic bases. Its scientific equipment is managed entirely by the CSIC’s Marine Technology Unit.

• The CSIC fleet: the main vessel is the Sarmiento de Gamboa, 70.5 metres in length, which was launched in 2006. It is equipped with advanced navigation technology (such as dynamic positioning) and was the first Spanish oceanographic vessel capable of working with remotely operated vehicles at great depths. In addition, the CSIC has two regional vessels, the García del Cid, based in Barcelona, which operates in the Western Mediterranean, the Iberian Atlantic area and the Canary Islands, and the Mytilus, launched in 1997, based in Vigo and operating mainly on the Galician coast.
• The IEO fleet: The twin oceanographic vessels Ramon Margalef and Angeles Alvariño, 46 metres long, delivered in 2011 and 2012, are two of the most remarkable of the twenty or so vessels in the fleet. The Francisco de Paula Navarro, meanwhile, is a multi-purpose ship based in Palma de Mallorca that is used mainly in the Mediterranean. This fleet will be joined by a new oceanographic vessel nearly 90 metres long and global range, which will be based in Cadiz and is expected to be operational starting in 2023. The project is funded by the European Commission.
• The Balearic Islands Coastal Observing and Forecasting System (SOCIB) has a 24-metre catamaran that is used in rapid response to oil spills and in studies for the conservation of bluefin tuna and jellyfish proliferation.

A country like Spain, due to its size, geography and diverse climate, produces a wide variety of wines; it has 90 designations of origin, only a few of which are known to the international consumer. Spain is the country with the most land devoted to vineyards in the world: in 2019, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, a total of 952,829 hectares. It produces a quarter of all European wine, which in turn accounts for three out of every four bottles consumed in the world. The total turnover of the approximately 4,000 Spanish wineries –75% of which export abroad– amounts to over 7 billion euros and the sector contributes around 1% of GDP. Indeed, after Italy and France, it is the world’s third largest producer of wine and the leading exporter by volume, mainly of bulk wines without a protected designation of origin or geographical indication (PDO/PGI). This type of wine accounts for more than half of the total production and approximately the same percentage of exports, of which only 30% to 40% are quality wines. Of the latter, Rioja and Cava are the most popular, and even more so, Cariñenas, Utiel-Requena, Almansa, Valdepeñas and Jerez are the most popular abroad by volume. The United Kingdom and Germany are the main consumers of Spanish wine, and outside the European Union, Mexico, the United States, China and Canada.

Spain produces a wide variety of wines and has 90 protected designations of origin

In Spain, some 120 native grape varieties are grown, some of which are associated with very specific areas or regions. On the Atlantic and Cantabrian coasts –what is known as ‘green Spain’– varieties adapted to the moist climate are grown, giving rise to the Galician Albariños or the Basque Txakolís. In the vast central area of the country, with its dry continental climate, the varieties Garnacha and Tempranillo (above all) are used to produce outstanding reds such as the Castile and León wines of Ribera del Duero, La Rioja, or the wines of El Bierzo, in León, produced with the red Mencía grape and the white Godello grape. The designations of origin Toro, Rueda or Cigales are also from the Castile and León region. Catalonia produces 90% of Spanish cava –a sparkling wine with DO produced since the 19th century according to the French Champenoise method– mainly in the regions of Penedés, Costers del Segre and Alella, with the native varieties Parellada and Xarel·lo, although it is also produced in some areas of La Rioja, Extremadura or Navarra. In addition to cava, which is its most exported wine, Catalonia has more than half a dozen other designations of origin, including Priorat and Monsant.

Andalusia is the cradle of the most famous Spanish wines in the world: Jerez or Sherry (from the Arabic Sherish). They all share the same common denominator: they are produced in the province of Cadiz, with the Palomino grape variety (or Pedro Ximénez in the case of sweet wines) and in the territory of the nine municipalities known as ‘el Marco de Jerez’: Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa María, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Chiclana de la Frontera, Chipiona, Puerto Real, Rota, Trebujena and Lebrija, the latter belonging to the province of Seville. Different types of wines come from different winemaking processes: biological ageing or ‘velo de flor’ (yeasts that prevent oxidation), or oxidative (natural ageing in American oak barrels or ‘botas’), sugar content (based on which, they are classified from dry to sweet), and final alcohol content after the process of adding wine spirits, called ‘fortification’.

Many of the Spanish designations of origin are still relatively unknown, due to their small size (59 of the existing 90) despite the quality of their wines, such as Lanzarote (Canary Islands), Menorca (Balearic Islands), Arlanza or Arribes (Castilla León), Ribera del Guadiana (Extremadura) or Somontano (Aragón). / PHOTO_ALEJANDRO ESPINOSA (FLICKR)

DENOMINATIONS OF ORIGIN OF WINES FROM SPAIN

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One of the most famous passages of Miguel de Cervantes’ novel comes in Chapter VIII, when Don Quixote encounters the windmills of the plains of La Mancha and attacks them, believing them to be giants, despite the warnings of Sancho Panza. The knight and his steed, Rocinante, come out on the losing end and are dragged by the blades of the windmill.

This is quite the opposite of what has happened to the Spanish wind power sector, which is one of the strongest in the world. Today, the traditional windmills of La Mancha, now major tourist attractions, coexist with more than 20,000 state-of-the-art wind turbines spread over more than 1,100 wind farms across the country, which now produce 19% of the electricity consumed per year in Spain. Generating 23,484 megawatts of power every year, Spain is ranked fifth in the world and second in Europe for installed wind power, although it is not Castilla-La Mancha, but Castilla y León (followed by Galicia) that is the region with the highest installed power. Wind is now the primary source of renewable energy in Spain, and the second largest in the energy mix.

Wind power is produced when horizontal air currents (vertical ones do not have sufficient dynamic energy) move the blades of a wind turbine. This kinetic energy (caused by movement) is transmitted to a turbine, which transforms it into electricity. This passes through a power line to a distribution substation that is part of the grid, and from there to the end user. To be able to install a wind farm, the average wind speed in the area needs to reach at least 21 km/h.

Spain has been a pioneer in the development of wind energy. In April, 1984, it became the second European country after Greece to install a wind farm, located in Garriguella (Girona). This early rollout, together with favourable geographical and weather conditions, has made the Spanish wind power sector one of the strongest and most innovative in the world. Investment in R&D has reached 7.25%, much higher than the national average, and Spain is ranked sixth in the world and third in Europe for wind power patent applications.

And global demand is growing every year: the urgent need to slow climate change, replacing fossil fuel energy sources with clean and renewable energy, and constantly improving wind turbine technology, has fuelled major global growth in the sector. By 2021, the International Energy Agency (IEA) expects that 28% of the world’s energy demands will be met by renewable energy sources.

Among these, wind power is number one and already satisfies 5% of the world’s electricity demand. Currently, according to the World Wind Energy Council, global installed power exceeds half a million megawatts; in 2017 alone, it increased by 52,573 megawatts, the third largest increase since the record year of 2014. In Europe, wind power now supplies 12% of the continent’s electricity and a third of this is produced in Spain

Economic impact

According to data from the Spanish Wind Energy Association (AEE), Spain’s principal wind power industry association, in 2018, the sector contributed 3.39 billion euros, or 0.31%, to Spain’s GDP, between direct and indirect contribution, and employed 22,578 people. Consisting of more than two hundred companies present in over 35 countries, the Spanish wind power sector encompasses all of the links of the value chain: from equipment manufacture –there are 207 manufacturing centres in 16 of the 17 autonomous communities– to installation, commissioning and maintenance. The sector’s rapidly increasing exports, which in 2018 were worth 2.3 billion euros are particularly notable: Spain is the fourth largest exporter of wind turbines in the world, behind China, Denmark and Germany.

The Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex built between the 9th and 16th centuries on the top of a steep hill facing the Albaicín quarter of Granada. Boasting some three and a half million visitors a year, it is, after the Antonio Gaudí-designed Sagrada Familia in Barcelona (4.5 million visits a year), the second most visited tourist attraction in Spain and it is also usually included in the list of the most popular in the world.

It consists of a military fortress, a medina quarter, several palaces and gardens and other buildings, mostly built by the sultans during Muslim rule over the Iberian Peninsula after moving their capital to Granada. This period ended with the conquest of the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada, the last territory held by the Muslims, by the Catholic Monarchs in 1492, the same year as the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus.

At this point, the complex passed into the hands of Christian monarchs who added some buildings, such as a Renaissance-style palace commissioned by Emperor Charles V in 1526 and the Church of Santa María, completed in 1618 on the site of an old mosque. After a period of neglect, the arrival of the Romantic era in the 19th century renewed interest in the complex and restoration works began. In 1898, ownership of the Alhambra was transferred to the Spanish state and shortly afterwards it was declared a national heritage site. In the early 20th century, the trust that today manages it was created, placing it under the auspices of the regional government of Andalusia, and, in 1984, it was listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site.

The palatine city

Despite the sprawl of the site, surrounded by two thousand metres of wall and thirty towers, and the variety of buildings of interest from different periods, what has made the Alhambra world famous are its palaces and gardens from the Muslim era and, in particular, the Nasrid dynasty. In spite of the characteristically low quality of construction materials used in Islamic architecture –stone, brick and wood– and the exterior sobriety, the beauty and artistic quality of the interior rooms make it unique. Its gardens and courtyards, adorned with pools, ponds and fountains –such as the famous fountain in the Court of the Lions, perhaps the most recognisable image of the complex– are also responsible for the Alhambra’s uniqueness and universal reputation.

It is located on an elevated site known as Sabika Hill that was initially used as a military post, probably beginning in Roman times. The first palace was built in the mid-13th century by the ruler Muhammad ibn Yusuf ibn Nasr, better known as Ibn al-Ahmar, a name from which the name ‘Alhambra’ is believed to be derived, although other theories suggest that the name means ‘red fortress.’ Though this is not the colour of the buildings, the name is attributed to the optical effect produced by the torch lighting at night during construction. Successive rulers continued to add palaces and rooms, and reinforced the walled military zone, the Alcazaba, which is notable for the Place of Arms, the Sail Tower, the Weapons Tower and the Adarve Gardens. The walled site can be accessed by several gates, the most important of which are the Gate of Arms, the Gate of the Poor Quarter, the Gate of Justice  and the Gate of the Seven Floors.

The citadel (medina), contained houses for nobles and commoners, as well as public baths (hammam), ovens, workshops, underground stores and water tanks. This is the location of the Generalife Gardens and Nasrid Palaces: the Mexuar, the Comares Palace, or Palace of Yusuf I, and the Palace of the Lions, or of Mohammed V. In this area –and not by chance, but to symbolise the triumph of Christianity over Islam–the Palace of Charles V, noted for its unusual circular courtyard, was erected three centuries later. Opposite the palaces is the entry to the Rauda, the royal cemetery, and the Generalife Palace, a house of recreation for the sultans of Granada, famous for its orchards and gardens, and adorned with fountains and irrigation ditches. These gardens include an exceptional construction: the Water Staircase, which features handrails containing channels to carry a stream of water.

Some of the most highly representative elements of Islamic architecture that abound in the Alhambra are its courtyards, some of the most notable of which are the Court of the Lions, with its famous fountain; the Court of the Wrought Iron Grille, with its balcony on the south side; the Court of Comares, or Court of the Myrtles, with its ditch flanked by hedges; and the Court of Lindaraja, over which
the viewpoint of the same name looks.

The palaces house the rooms and halls used by the sultans to receive foreign dignitaries, celebrate parties or impart justice, all with fabulous decoration covering the walls, arches, pillars and ceilings, and combining calligraphic elements, tiles and muqarnas (pieces of plaster similar to a honeycomb). Of these, some of the most notable are the Hall of the Ambassadors, where the sultan’s throne was located; the Hall of the Abencerrajes, the Hall of the Two Sisters
and the Hall of the Mocárabes, with its spectacular star-shaped vaults. In the Hall of the Kings, the ceilings are adorned with paintings, while in other rooms, such as
the Gilded Room, the ceiling is made of wood.

Other elements of great interest are its overlooks, which offer panoramic views of the city, such as the Queen’s Dressing Room, originating from the Nasrid period but modified during the Renaissance, and the Lindaraja  or Daraxa Viewpoint, which, in addition to its views, stands out for its sumptuous tiling.

Natural parks, unlike national parks, are designated by the regions or autonomous communities, which have exclusive powers to manage them. Spain has 132 and they are an essential part of environmental protection as they cover a total area of 3.5 million hectares (compared to the just over 380,000 hectares belonging to the 15 national parks that exist), approximately 7% of the area of the country.

These extensive protected areas remain largely unknown to both Spaniards and international tourism, which usually associates Spain with ‘sun and beach’ holidays. The country does, however, boast a wide variety of geography, geology and climate that, over the centuries, along with human action, has created remarkably diverse landscapes, with an equally varied wealth of fauna and flora.

Mountain areas

The first steps to protect Spain’s natural spaces date back to 1918, when Picos de Europa became a national park, the first in Spain and the second in the world (after Yellowstone, in the USA in 1872).

Interestingly, the most recently-created park can be found on the Leonese side of this mountain range, which separates Castilla y León from Asturias: Babia and Luna Natural Park, which received this designation in 2015, along with the Ter and Freser Headwaters Natural Park in Girona (Catalonia). It is a mountainous area of outstanding natural beauty and ethnographic significance associated with pastoral farming and livestock.  It is home to populations of wild Iberian wolves, mountain birds and birds of prey, and European bison (in reserves), among other species, such as the native Hispano-Bretón horses.

The list of natural parks in mountain areas, in a country with some of the most rugged terrain in Europe, is extensive. The natural parks of Somiedo and Redes in Asturias are worth mentioning, among many others. The latter includes the Tabayón del Mongayu, a 60-metre-high waterfall of glacial origin, listed as a natural monument in 2003.

Water and rock

The interaction between rock and water has created spectacular mountain lakes such as Lake Certascan in Catalonia’s High Pyrenees Natural Park and the Laguna Negra and Glacial Circus of Urbión in Soria. Between the provinces of Salamanca and Cáceres is the Las Batuecas-Sierra de Francia Natural Park, the location of the Meandro del Melero, a truly magical and little-known landscape where a hairpin bend on the river forms a meander connected to the bank by a narrow strip of land, which, from the Mirador de la Antigua vantage point, looks like an island in the middle the forest.

Inland Spain conceals other wonders that have also been sculpted by the action of water, such as Hoces del Rio Duratón Natural Park, in the north-east of Segovia, and Cañón del Río Lobos Natural Park, between Soria and Burgos. In the Galician province of Ourense, the Baixa Limia-Serra do Xurés Natural Park is the location of the mouth of the A Fecha stream in the form of a waterfall, which, during rainy times of the year, is the highest waterfall in Galicia. In the province of Guadalajara is the Alto Tajo Natural Park, with its canyons and river gorges, needles and monoliths of limestone and red sandstone, with golden eagles, peregrine falcons, Egyptian and griffon vultures and Eurasian eagle-owls flying overhead.

Green treasures

The beech tree, characteristic of European temperate forests, is a protagonist in spaces such as the Hayedo de Tejera Negra beech forest in Guadalajara and Pagoeta Natural Park in Guipúzcoa. In Las Fragas del Eume, A Coruña, oak, birch, chestnut and other tree species form a lush forest on the seashore. In the Canary Islands, where there are 11 natural parks, some of the most notable are Tenerife’s Corona Forestal and Gran Canaria’s Pinar de Tamadaba natural parks.

Elsewhere, the Iberian Peninsula’s largest cork oak forest is located in Los Alcornocales Natural Park in the province of Cádiz, and Sierra de María-Los Vélez Natural Park in the north of Almería boasts a thousand-year-old Spanish juniper tree. In Sierras de Cazorla Natural Park, there are almost a hundred pine trees that are over 1,300 years old, as well as what is considered to be the oldest yew tree in Europe, which is over 2,000 years old.

Deserts and coasts

On the other landscape extreme are desert areas, such as those in Cabo de Gata Natural Park in Almería. Curiously, a thousand kilometres to the north, in Navarra, is the Bárdenas Reales desert, an arid lunar landscape that is difficult to associate with such a northern region. It is the site of a natural monument known as Castildetierra, a peculiar cone-shaped rock formation fashioned by erosion. To the east, Girona’s Garrotxa Natural Park conceals another geological wonder: more than 40 volcanic cones and 20 basaltic lava flows. Also of volcanic origin are the Columbretes Islands archipelago and natural park in Castellón.

Spain’s extensive 5,900-kilometre coastline boasts numerous protected natural areas, such as the salt lagoons of La Mata and Torrevieja in Alicante, the Albufera lagoons of Valencia and Majorca, noted for its colourful flamingos, among other birds, and the Ibiza and Formentera Ses Salines Natural Park in the Balearic Islands. In terms of sea life, the Canary Islands’ Lobos Island (Wolves Island) in the north-east of Fuerteventura is named after the monk seals, or sea wolves, that inhabit it. For its part, the Strait of Gibraltar Natural Park is considered to be one of the best places in Europe for the sighting of cetaceans, such as dolphins, sperm whales, rorquals, pilot whales and a permanent population of Iberian killer whales, which feed on Mediterranean bluefin tuna.