Andorra - Overview

Status and trends of biodiversity, including benefits from biodiversity and ecosystem services

Located in the eastern Pyrenees, Andorra is a landlocked country comprised of rugged mountains which in recent decades has experienced a general loss of biodiversity on its valley floors due to urbanization. The affected area represents 1.8% of the national territory and is where 60% of the population lives. Biodiversity is maintained and/or increased due to a decrease in anthropogenic pressure on the natural environment in the rest of the country, equivalent to 98.2% of the territory... More »

Main pressures on and drivers of change to biodiversity (direct and indirect)

The main threats to Andorran biodiversity at present are anthropization and urbanization, increasing pressure on the territory, mainly in the valleys. The country is not however threatened by natural resource overexploitation or pollution. In 2014, the quality of air and water consistently ranged from good to excellen... More »

Implementation of the NBSAP

Andorra became a Party to the Convention on Biological Diversity on 5 May 2015. The country’s first NBSAP is currently under development, with consideration being given to the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and its Aichi Targets. The objectives of the NBSAP are: to take inventory and improve knowledge of national biodiversity and its trends; to manage biodiversity and guarantee ecosystem services; to promote biodiversity in national and local sectoral policies; to raise the awareness of the population; and to promote governance and cooperation among the country’s administrative divisions and at the global level... More »

Actions taken to achieve the 2020 Aichi Biodiversity Targets

Andorra has translated the Aichi Biodiversity Targets into Catalan, the country’s official language. The country also intends to establish a website for disseminating information on the CBD in the near future. The Sustainable Andorra Centre (“Centre Andorra Sostenible”) serves as a government tool for providing environmental education and raising public awareness of biodiversity and its sustainable use... More »

Support mechanisms for national implementation (legislation, funding, capacity-building, coordination, mainstreaming, etc.)

Implementation of the NBSAP will be supported by the National Landscape Strategy (2011) and environment-friendly policy developed by the Department of Agriculture, among other strategic plans.

Andorra is a participant in the Working Community of the Pyrenees (CTP) to the Pyrenees Climate Change Observatory (OPCC), studying the effects of climate change in the Pyrenees... More »

Mechanisms for monitoring and reviewing implementation

A mechanism to comprehensively monitor biodiversity does not exist. However, about 100 of the country’s 1750 wetlands are monitored annually. An evaluation report should be finalized in the spring of 2016 and will be accompanied by a management plan defining the principle objectives and actions to be achieved by 2024, in accordance with the objectives of the Ramsar Convention... More »