Environment of Spain

right|thumb|250px|Cierzo wind blowing in Zaragoza. The cierzo is a strong, dry and usually cold wind that blows from the North or Northwest through the regions of Aragon, La Rioja and Navarra in the Ebro valley in Spain. It takes place when there is an anticyclone in the Bay of Biscay and a low-pressure area in the Mediterranean Sea. It is more common in autumn and winter, when larger pressure gradients take place, but a small pressure difference along the Ebro valley is sufficient to initiate it in any season.

ministerial department of the Government of Spain

thumb|Former ICONA mountain hut at Ordiales, [[Asturias.]] thumb|Soviet Mil Mi-2 helicopter hired by ICONA in the 1980s in order to fight [[forest fires. Museo del Aire, Cuatro Vientos, Madrid.]] Instituto para la Conservación de la Naturaleza (Nature Conservation Institute), better known by its acronym ICONA (1971–1995) was the administrative entity that was established in Spain in order to preserve and research the natural environment in the Spanish territory.