Title: Reseña del Patrimonio Natural y la Biodiversidad de Galicia (2005)
Description: The title of the present monograph, evokes the one published in 1865 by the Ferrolan naturalist Víctor López Seoane and Pardo-Montenegro [1832,1900], which in its concise prologue highlighted the environmental interest of our land: "Galicia is a fertile field for the naturalist, we have convinced ourselves by crossing it from one point to another, visiting its most ignored places, and surprising in all the places of its steep territory, the same lush vegetation, the same curious accumulation of objects, worthy of being studied with the most patient attention ".
 
In Galicia, landscape and natural components have been the subject of poetry and narrative rather than sciences, a circumstance that is evident in the absence of studies that allow us to specify the distribution area of ​​the key elements of natural heritage and of biodiversity. This situation was already evoked by Seoane himself: "At a good hour that the poets celebrate the beauty of these lands and the abundance of the native fields; the words of the botanist, will be in this, a more authentic and appreciated testimony, than the sweet verses and the beautiful thoughts of those who love her with the holy love of an enthusiasm never denied ". In the end, the excess of lyrics has led to an unsustainable use of our natural spaces, which are threatened by an increase in tourist pressure that exceeds its ecological load capacity. The list of bad examples is unfortunately very extensive, it is enough to point out the irrational trampling suffered by the Mobile Dune of the Corrubedo Natural Park, or the lack of control of access to the beach of As Catedrais, recently declared a Natural Monument. Predatory actions that are added to the indiscriminate traffic that is practiced and tolerated on the dune systems, cliff thickets, wetlands, etc.
 
The improvement in knowledge and dissemination in environmental matters currently have a priority objective aimed at guaranteeing their protection and respect. Going ahead with conservation policies Seone draws attention to this crucial corollary: "If with this work we manage to attract the attention of studious men, if in the brief table we present, and in which between the data, the modest own observation, there is something that can be useful, so that Galicia is more loved and respected of those who do not know, we will be rewarded for our efforts. I hope that other more clear talents will undertake with great courage and fortune the great immense task of filling in the vast majority of the vast picture we draw! "
 
Hopefully this information will also serve to promote the protection and respect of Galicia's natural heritage and biodiversity.
Subjects: Natural heritage, biodiversity, Galicia, NW iberian
Places: Galicia, NW Iberian peninsula