Consell declares Sierra de Escalona and Dehesa de Campoamor a natural park

The Consell has declared the Sierra de Escalona and the Dehesa de Campoamor, in the Vega Baja region, as a natural park through Decree 137/2026, of September 11. The regulation is published in the Official Gazette of the Generalitat Valenciana (DOGV) number 10453, of September 17, 2026, section I, with the reference DOGV-C-2026-28621, and enters into force the day following its publication.

The decree, proposed by the third vice president and conseller of Environment, Infrastructure, Territory and Recovery, Vicente Martínez Mus, and signed by the president of the Generalitat, Juan Francisco Pérez Llorca, establishes a special protection regime under Law 11/1994, of December 27, on protected natural spaces of the Comunitat Valenciana. The declared area coincides with zone I of high environmental value of the Natural Resource Management Plan (PORN) and covers 9,004.10 hectares distributed among the municipalities of Orihuela, San Miguel de Salinas, and Pilar de la Horadada.

The declaration repeals Decree 190/2018, of October 19, which had granted the sierra the status of protected landscape, and raises the level of protection of the space in compliance with the principle of non-regression of environmental protection.

An area of 9,004 hectares across three municipalities

The natural park comprises zone I of high environmental value of the PORN, with an extension of 9,004.10 hectares in Orihuela, San Miguel de Salinas, and Pilar de la Horadada. The decree also declares the entirety of the three municipalities as a socioeconomic influence area, in accordance with article 21 of Law 11/1994.

The space is located in the Neogene basin of the Mar Menor and hosts Mediterranean scrubland with pine forests on sandstones, rupicolous vegetation, and communities of ravines and river courses. Among its flora, species such as Bupleurum gibraltaricum and Helianthemum caputfelis stand out.

Reinforced protection and land use

The uses and exploitation of the land and other natural resources, as well as the linked economic and social activities, must be carried out in accordance with the management and planning rules and guidelines of the PORN. The protection regime seeks to identify and georeference the significant elements of the natural heritage, define their state of conservation, and establish the capacity and intensity of land use.

The text emphasizes compatibility with sustainable rural socioeconomic development and traditional activities. The applicable sanctioning regime will be that provided for in articles 52 to 61 of Law 11/1994.

Governing Board, management, and financing

The Governing Board of the park is created as a collegiate consultative, advisory, and participatory body, presided over by right by the conseller competent in environment. Its members include representatives from:

• The regional ministry competent in environmental matters.
• The regional ministries of agriculture, fisheries and food; infrastructure, transport and urban planning; and tourism.
• The Provincial Council of Alicante and the Segura Hydrographic Confederation.
• The city councils of Orihuela, San Miguel de Salinas, and Pilar de la Horadada.
• The sports federations of the Valencian Community, the universities of the province of Alicante, conservation associations, game reserve holders, and the landowners of the three municipalities.

Management corresponds to the general directorate competent in natural spaces, and the regional ministry will develop a master plan for use and management. The regulation will not result in an increase in the expenditure chapters of the regional ministry of environment.

Background and European figures

The process began with Order 7/2017, of February 16, which initiated the PORN, and continued with Order 9/2023, of May 5, which agreed to initiate the declaration procedure. Decree 31/2026, of February 27, approved the PORN and proposed that the natural park coincide with its zone I.

The territory is included in the Natura 2000 Network as site of community importance SCI ES5212012 and special protection area for birds SPA ES0000464. It hosts one of the best populations of badgers in the Iberian southeast and is a dispersal area for the Bonelli’s eagle (Aquila fasciata), listed as endangered.

The declaration increases the protection of a key enclave of the Vega Baja and henceforth conditions agricultural, urban, and recreational uses in the three affected municipalities, while creating a participation body with the presence of landowners, city councils, and conservation entities.

Source: Official Gazette of the Generalitat Valenciana, no. 10453, of September 17, 2026, section I. General Provisions, page 1 (official reference: DOGV-C-2026-28621).