The Nature Protection Service ( es, Servicio de Protección de la Naturaleza, SEPRONA) is a unit of the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

Civil Guard responsible for

nature conservation Nature conservation is the moral philosophy and conservation movement focused on protecting species from extinction, maintaining and restoring habitats, enhancing ecosystem services, and protecting biological diversity. A range of values under ...

and

management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

of the

hunting Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, e ...

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from fish stocking, stocked bodies of water such as fish pond, ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. ...

industry. It serves to carry out and oversee State provisions to preserve

nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...

, the environment,

water resources Water resources are natural resources of water that are potentially useful for humans, for example as a source of drinking water supply or irrigation water. 97% of the water on the Earth is salt water and only three percent is fresh water; slight ...

, and preserving wealth in hunting,

fish farming upright=1.3, Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye">mariculture.html" ;"title="Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture">Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye, Scotland Fish farming or ...

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...

and other nature related industries. They are also heavily involved in work against spills and

contamination Contamination is the presence of a constituent, impurity, or some other undesirable element that spoils, corrupts, infects, makes unfit, or makes inferior a material, physical body, natural environment, workplace, etc. Types of contamination ...

illegal trade A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the s ...

protected species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and invas ...

, unregulated hunting and fishing activities,

protection Protection is any measure taken to guard a thing against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although th ...

of natural spaces, and

prevention Prevention may refer to: Health and medicine * Preventive healthcare, measures to prevent diseases or injuries rather than curing them or treating their symptoms General safety * Crime prevention, the attempt to reduce deter crime and crimin ...

and extinction of fires.

History

The idea of SEPRONA dates back to June 7, 1876, where the

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ordered the Civil Guard to take on new security and

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and ...

objectives, varying from the protection of public

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher th ...

s, fire prevention, preventing clandestine

royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset o ...

and other resources. Not until 1986, however, where the State demanded the Civil guard ensure conservation of nature and the environment. Thus in 1988 the Civil Guard created the Servicio Protección de la Naturaleza, or SEPRONA, guaranteeing

citizens the right to a suitable environment as well as the right to preserve the environment. SEPRONA was reorganized again in 2000, and since it is entrusted with the prevention of environmental harm and protection of movable and immovable

property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...

listed as historic

asset In financial accounting, an asset is any resource owned or controlled by a business or an economic entity. It is anything (tangible or intangible) that can be used to produce positive economic value. Assets represent value of ownership that can b ...

s in all the Spanish

national territory A federal territory is an administrative division under the direct and usually exclusive jurisdiction of a federation's national government. A federal territory is a part of a federation, but not a part of any federated state. The states constit ...

and its territorial, including sea preservation of protected and endangered species. "Its base of work is very extensive, and its components work with over 2000

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...

s and

decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...

s in constant and continuous adaptation to both

policy Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an organ ...

changes themselves of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...

, State,

autonomous In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ow ...

community and even

municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the g ...

ordinances, being the specialty of the Civil Guard, which handles more

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred to a ...

Organization

The

headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

of SEPRONA is called Unidad Central Operativa Medioambiental (UCOMA). Because Spain has the largest degree of

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') le ...

in Europe, the country itself serves as a point of reference in topics regarding nature conservation. This puts a higher amount of environmental responsibility on Spain versus other European countries. About 11.8% of Spain's national territory is conserved by

regional In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

or national government. Each province is accounted for having the following: #Technical Office: Which coordinates and supports missions of SEPRONA #Teams: investigate and quantify environmental violations. #

Patrol A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as law enforcement officers, military personnel, or security personnel, that are assigned to monitor or secure a specific geographic area. Etymology From French ''patrouiller'', from Old Fre ...

: Responsible for prevention, monitoring and reporting aggressions. The responsibilities associated with the Nature Protection Service vary, yet all its purposes serve to better the environment and conserve nature. Aside from the roles mentioned above, SEPRONA is associated with the collaboration with the authorities and bodies concerned to plan and execute an effective policy in a given area. "Since 2002 there is a cooperation agreement between the autonomous community (Ministry of agriculture and water) and the Ministry of the Interior for protection of the nature of the Region teams collaborate on environmental inspection tasks. For its part the autonomous administration contributes, through

financial Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fin ...

contributions to the improvement of the material means and formation of civil guards involved in the aforementioned teams." With the collaboration of those local authorities, they work to: *Promote behaviors of respect for nature. *Check the status of conservation of water resources (continental and maritime),

geological Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

and forestry to prevent any pollution, aggression or abusive use. *Assist in the prevention of

forest fires A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...

. *Protect the atmospheric environment monitoring the degree of pollution and radioactivity level. *Perform the actions aimed to promote the normal development of the

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring ( indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or ''skin flora''. ...

and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...

(continental and maritime) and particularly protected species. *Contribute to the correct use of forestry, hunting and fishing resources. *Facilitate the proper enjoyment of the natural space preventing activities that can degrade it. *Create the

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases span ...

s relating to the service. Riaño Land Rover Defender

Effectiveness

The following are statistics of SEPRONA's environmental policing from the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministr ...

for the year 2010: Moreover, in 2011 alone SEPRONA arrested more than 300 people on account of violations against the environment. Over 200 people were involved in violations in management of the territory, 72 in forest fires and 10 in illegal trade of exotic species Infringements with the largest number of complaints were for hunting, fishing and possession of protected species laws, and for issues regarding urban, dangerous, radioactive and

sanitary Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems a ...

residues.

References

External links

Official website
* :es:Servicio de Protección de la Naturaleza {{Authority control

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Forestry in Spain Civil Guard (Spain)

History

Organization

Effectiveness

See also

References

External links