# Los Valles de Omaña y Luna Biosphere Reserve
**Los Valles de Omaña y Luna Biosphere Reserve** (Reserva de la Biosfera de los Valles de Omaña y Luna) is a UNESCO Man and the [Biosphere](https://www.edgepedia.org/biosphere) (MAB) site in the northwest of León Province, Castilla y León, northern Spain, designated on 29 June 2005 and named for the basins of the Luna and Omaña rivers.[1](https://omanayluna.com/rb-omanayluna) It covers roughly 81,162 hectares across six municipalities and combines conservation of Cantabrian mountain ecosystems with sustainable rural development in a lightly populated territory.[2](https://www.boe.es/buscar/doc.php?id=BOE-A-2020-287)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Designation | Declared by UNESCO on 29 June 2005; rezonified on 19 June 2019[1](https://omanayluna.com/rb-omanayluna) • [2](https://www.boe.es/buscar/doc.php?id=BOE-A-2020-287) |
| Location | Northwest of León Province, Castilla y León; central point at latitude 42° 54′ N, longitude 5° 57′ W[2](https://www.boe.es/buscar/doc.php?id=BOE-A-2020-287) |
| Area | 81,161.90 ha total: core zone 17,653.70 ha, buffer zone 43,015.50 ha, transition zone 20,492.70 ha[2](https://www.boe.es/buscar/doc.php?id=BOE-A-2020-287) |
| Municipalities | Los Barrios de Luna, Murias de Paredes, Riello, Sena de Luna, Soto y Amío, and Valdesamario, with 86 localities[2](https://www.boe.es/buscar/doc.php?id=BOE-A-2020-287) |
| Population | 2,813 inhabitants (INE, 2016), concentrated mainly in municipal capitals[1](https://omanayluna.com/rb-omanayluna) |
| Relief | Elevations exceed 2,000 m in the southwest, in the Sierra de la Cañada complex[3](https://www.unesco.org/en/mab/los-valles-de-omana-y-luna) |
| Emblematic fauna | Brown bear and western capercaillie (seriously endangered), broom hare, Iberian desman, wolf, gray partridge[3](https://www.unesco.org/en/mab/los-valles-de-omana-y-luna) |
| Network role | Co-holder, with a research center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, of the technical secretariat of the World Network of Mountain Biosphere Reserves[4](https://omanayluna.com/red-mundial-rbm) |
## Geography
The reserve lies where the Cantabrian mountain range meets the Montes de León, on the southern face of the Cantabrian range in northern Iberia.[3](https://www.unesco.org/en/mab/los-valles-de-omana-y-luna) • [5](https://www.mountainbiosphere.org/members-experiences/valles-de-omana-y-luna-espana/) Omaña is surrounded by mountain chains, and the territory takes in the Luna and Omaña rivers, which give rise to a succession of fertile valleys and narrow gorges.[3](https://www.unesco.org/en/mab/los-valles-de-omana-y-luna) Elevations exceed 2,000 m in the southwest, in the Sierra de la Cañada mountain complex.[3](https://www.unesco.org/en/mab/los-valles-de-omana-y-luna)
The reserve sits between the Mediterranean and Atlantic climatic zones, a position that produces high biodiversity.[5](https://www.mountainbiosphere.org/members-experiences/valles-de-omana-y-luna-espana/) It borders the neighboring biosphere reserves of Laciana, Babia, Ubiña-Las Mesas, and Alto Bernesga.[6](https://omanayluna.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/poster_zonificacion_COMP.pdf)
## Ecology
**Flora.** The reserve conserves deciduous and marcescent forests in excellent condition, including birch groves considered unique in the [Iberian Peninsula](https://www.edgepedia.org/iberian-peninsula), extensive Quercus pyrenaica woods, and stands of the oak Quercus orocantabrica, a species described in 2002.[3](https://www.unesco.org/en/mab/los-valles-de-omana-y-luna) The territory also holds the most northerly sabinar, a juniper woodland, in Europe, together with Mediterranean species that mark the transition between Atlantic and Mediterranean climates.[2](https://www.boe.es/buscar/doc.php?id=BOE-A-2020-287) Forest masses include oak woods, beech woods, birch woods, sabinares, and acebedas (holly woods).[7](https://omanayluna.com/explora-la-naturaleza)
**Fauna.** For some species the reserve marks the southern limit of their distribution. It hosts seriously endangered species such as the brown bear and the [western capercaillie](https://www.edgepedia.org/western-capercaillie), the broom hare endemic to [Cantabria](https://www.edgepedia.org/cantabria), the Iberian desman endemic to Spain, and species such as the gray partridge, the wolf, and large populations of trout adapted to mountain watercourses.[3](https://www.unesco.org/en/mab/los-valles-de-omana-y-luna) [Roe deer](https://www.edgepedia.org/roe-deer) occur in wooded areas and chamois at the highest elevations, with the golden eagle among the large predators present.[7](https://omanayluna.com/explora-la-naturaleza) Bird, mammal, amphibian, and reptile communities are widely and richly represented, and the 2017 census recorded 130 species of diurnal butterflies.[3](https://www.unesco.org/en/mab/los-valles-de-omana-y-luna) • [2](https://www.boe.es/buscar/doc.php?id=BOE-A-2020-287)
## Human history and landscape
Human presence in the valleys dates at least to the [Bronze Age](https://www.edgepedia.org/bronze-age); significant remains include the Ídolo de Rodicol in Riello, flat axes at Mirantes de Luna, and Iron Age castros (hillforts) on strategic heights.[8](https://omanayluna.com/descubre-su-historia) Imperial Rome organized the territory with roads, including one through the Luna valley toward the Cantabrian range, and a dense network of gold mines and associated infrastructure; Roman gold mines survive at sites such as Los Carcajales and Las Canalejas.[8](https://omanayluna.com/descubre-su-historia)
The present landscape is largely the product of a farming system established during the Middle Ages and in operation until the mid twentieth century. Each settlement had land allocated to grasslands, woods for timber, and croplands.[3](https://www.unesco.org/en/mab/los-valles-de-omana-y-luna) Later heritage includes traditional architecture with patín entrances, noble houses with coats of arms, castles, medieval bridges, hermitages, parish churches, and hydraulic mills; the region holds more than a hundred religious buildings, most from the Baroque period.[8](https://omanayluna.com/descubre-su-historia) • [9](https://www.spain.info/en/nature/valles-omana-luna-biosphere-reserve/)
## Zoning and protection figures
After the 2019 rezonification, the core zone covers 17,653.70 ha, the buffer zone 43,015.50 ha, and the transition zone 20,492.70 ha.[2](https://www.boe.es/buscar/doc.php?id=BOE-A-2020-287) The core zone coincides almost entirely with other protected areas of the Natura 2000 network.[10](https://www.miteco.gob.es/ca/parques-nacionales-oapn/reservas-biosfera-mab/programa-mab-espana/nuestras-reservas-de-la-biosfera/vallesdeomanayluna.html)
Several protection figures overlap the reserve: the "Babia y Luna" Natural Park (24.03% of the reserve), the Natura 2000 sites ZEC "Omaña" (23.79%), ZEPA "Omaña" (28.86%), ZEC "Montaña Central de León" (1.57%), and ZEC-ZEPA "Valle de San Emiliano", the capercaillie recovery plan and its critical area (3.33%), and the Alto Omaña River Natural Reserve (0.04%).[7](https://omanayluna.com/explora-la-naturaleza) In total, more than 46,000 ha, about 57% of the reserve's surface, carries some protection category.[6](https://omanayluna.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/poster_zonificacion_COMP.pdf)
## Economy and the mountain biosphere network
Open-range livestock raising, together with domestic agriculture and incipient tourism, is one of the main sources of economic development in the region.[3](https://www.unesco.org/en/mab/los-valles-de-omana-y-luna) Tourist highlights include the Barrios de Luna reservoir, one of the few navigable waters in León Province, and the oak and birch forests of the Omaña valley.[11](https://www.miteco.gob.es/va/parques-nacionales-oapn/reservas-biosfera-mab/programa-mab-espana/nuestras-reservas-de-la-biosfera/vallesdeomanayluna.html) After decades of demographic decline as young people moved to cities, the reserve has promoted beekeeping as a source of rural employment; the absence of conventional agriculture in the six municipalities is an advantage for honey production free of pesticide problems.[12](https://www.unesco.org/es/articles/las-reservas-de-biosfera-de-montana-ante-una-nueva-era-para-lograr-sistemas-socioecologicos)
The reserve is one of 7 biosphere reserves in León Province and one of 12 in the Cantabrian range.[1](https://omanayluna.com/rb-omanayluna) In December 2021 UNESCO's MAB program launched the World Network of Mountain Biosphere Reserves, and the reserve shares that network's technical secretariat with the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences of the [Chinese Academy of Sciences](https://www.edgepedia.org/chinese-academy-of-sciences), with support from UNESCO's MAB secretariat.[4](https://omanayluna.com/red-mundial-rbm) From 7 to 11 March 2022 it hosted the network's first in-person post-COVID meeting, which produced a two-year work plan on biodiversity loss and climate change in support of the 2030 Agenda.[12](https://www.unesco.org/es/articles/las-reservas-de-biosfera-de-montana-ante-una-nueva-era-para-lograr-sistemas-socioecologicos)
## References
1. [RB Omaña y Luna, Reserva de la Biosfera Valles de Omaña y Luna (official site)](https://omanayluna.com/rb-omanayluna)
2. [BOE-A-2020-287: Resolución de 17 de diciembre de 2019, Organismo Autónomo Parques Nacionales (rezonificación de Valles de Omaña y Luna)](https://www.boe.es/buscar/doc.php?id=BOE-A-2020-287)
3. [Los Valles de Omaña y Luna, Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB), UNESCO](https://www.unesco.org/en/mab/los-valles-de-omana-y-luna)
4. [Red Mundial de Reservas de Biosfera de Montaña, RBVOyL official site](https://omanayluna.com/red-mundial-rbm)
5. [Valles de Omaña y Luna (España), Miembro Mountain Biosphere](https://www.mountainbiosphere.org/members-experiences/valles-de-omana-y-luna-espana/)
6. [Zonificación de la Reserva de la Biosfera de los Valles de Omaña y Luna (poster, 2015)](https://omanayluna.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/poster_zonificacion_COMP.pdf)
7. [Explora la Naturaleza, RBVOyL official site](https://omanayluna.com/explora-la-naturaleza)
8. [Descubre su Historia, RBVOyL official site](https://omanayluna.com/descubre-su-historia)
9. [Biosphere Reserve of the Omaña and Luna valleys in Spain, spain.info](https://www.spain.info/en/nature/valles-omana-luna-biosphere-reserve/)
10. [Valles de Omaña y Luna, ficha de la Reserva, OAPN (miteco.gob.es)](https://www.miteco.gob.es/ca/parques-nacionales-oapn/reservas-biosfera-mab/programa-mab-espana/nuestras-reservas-de-la-biosfera/vallesdeomanayluna.html)
11. [Valles de Omaña y Luna, OAPN (miteco.gob.es)](https://www.miteco.gob.es/va/parques-nacionales-oapn/reservas-biosfera-mab/programa-mab-espana/nuestras-reservas-de-la-biosfera/vallesdeomanayluna.html)
12. [Las reservas de biosfera de montaña ante una nueva era, UNESCO (2023)](https://www.unesco.org/es/articles/las-reservas-de-biosfera-de-montana-ante-una-nueva-era-para-lograr-sistemas-socioecologicos)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Places and geography › Parks, protected areas, and geographic heritage sites › Protected natural areas › Biosphere reserves (UNESCO MAB) › Biosphere reserves in Europe › Biosphere reserves in Spain*
*Initially written Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license