Specific programme: Cooperation Programme Interreg V-C (Interreg EUROPE)
UPV/EHU Partner Status: Beneficiary
UPV/EHU PI: Ibone Ametzaga Arregi
Project start: 01/08/2019
Project end:   31/07/2023

Brief description: Land is a valuable and basic resource for the natural heritage and human well-being. Different regions in Europe are the subject of intensive urbanization and periurban open spaces (PUOS) are diminishing due to massive investments taking place at the cities fringes or in the extend of functional urban areas. In the case study regions, the natural heritage related to PUOS is not conserved, protected, promoted and developed in every day planning practice. Because of that, investments in POUS tend to be fragmented, unsustainable over time, and beyond their potential. Land use decisions, which overestimate the role of grey infrastructures over green infrastructures and ad-hock land use zoning, which allows intensive fragmentation of ecosystems, foster further diminishing of PUOS and degradation of natural heritage. Governance actors do not pay attention to natural heritage issues related to PUOS. The overall objective of RENATUR is the identification, analysis, dissemination and transfer of good practices and policy experiences related to the protection of natural heritage of PUOS into regional policy instruments. The policy instruments modified during RENATUR lifetime have to be useful to sustain or increase the quality of PUOS by strengthening biodiversity, protecting ecosystems, promoting green infrastructures and ecosystem services, helping to avoid further ecosystems fragmentation.