Vortragende: Sergi Herrando (CREAF and Observatory of natural heritage and biodiversity) and Pau Sainz de la Maza (Government of Catalonia and Observatory of natural heritage and biodiversity)

As usual in many Mediterranean countries, biodiversity monitoring started later in Catalonia than in Western and Central Europe. However, situation changed rapidly in the last decades of the 20th century or begining of the 21st. By then, the combination of administrative support, knowledge from research centres and enthusiasm from non-profit organisations boosted a strong community of alliances interested in biodiversity monitoring. More than 400 monitoring projects are now stablished, and the HARMON initiative is aimed to harmonise the protocols and data flows of existing monitoring schemes. Although situation greatly differs among taxonomic groups, habitats, and areas, joint efforts have allowed, among others, to develop a rather robust EU Directives reporting process and a Living Planet Index for Catalonia.