ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the national parks in Spain, presenting an overview of their historical development, legal framework, present-day problems and their increasing relation with rural development initiatives. In the European context, Spain was one of the first countries to create national parks. The history of national parks in Spain started relatively early with the direct introduction of the American model, but with only few contacts with similar initiatives in other European countries, where social and political sensibility to nature conservation had already spread and to a greater extent. Spain participated early in the declaration of protected areas, publishing the first Spanish National Park Act in 1916 to preserve some selected areas from human exploitation. The national parks in Spain already experienced many conflicts but also offer new opportunities for rural development. Thus the rapidly increasing number and quality of publications about national parks reflects the growing interest in visiting them.
