Delimitation of Green Infrastructure in Almeria Province (Spain) using Geographical Information Systems and Multi-Criteria Evaluation

Green Infrastructure (GI) is increasingly prioritised in landscape policy and planning, due to its potential to benefit ecosystems and enhance wildlife conservation. However, due to the uneven distribution of protected areas (PAs) and the fragmentation of habitats more generally, multi-level policy strategies are needed to create an integrated GI network bridging national, regional and local scales. To help address this challenge, we present proposals to integrate GI elements for the province of Almeria, southeast Spain. We delimit and define key GI elements, and apply GIS-based connectivity tools to generate ecological corridors connecting the province’s 35 PAs. Currently, the PAs are threatened by the advance of intensive greenhouse agriculture and tourism-related urban growth of the municipalities to which they belong. Common patterns in the location of the most suitable areas for the development of GI can be identified. New GI networks would be located along the coast, specifically in the western part of the study area. They would also occupy the valleys of the main rivers of the province. Around 50% of the area occupied by the proposed corridors would be located in places of medium and high suitability for the movement of species between core areas.