The aims of this project are threefold: 1) to produce reliable and comparable distributional data for a large number of species in the Iberian Peninsula, including invertebrate groups and to provide a tool to manage such information; 2) to assess the effectiveness of existing protected areas in the Iberian Peninsula for conserving target animal and plant species; 3) to improve existing reserve selection protocols so to account for more realistic processes affecting their persistence To achieve these ends, data on vertebrate (mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians), plant (Dicotyledons, Monocotyledons, Pteridophytes and Gymnosperms), insect (butterflies, moths, dung beetles, neuropterans), and other protected invertebrate species will be digitized in a single database (IBIODAT). Particular attention will be given to those [invertebrate] groups for which there are no databases or distribution atlases available. To reduce inevitable biases in data, ensemble forecasting of species distributions will be developed using novel modelling techniques. Finally, a new software tool (FlexNet) will be developed to manage data, assess the effectiveness of the Iberian protected areas network, and identify additional priority areas that would be required for full conservation of biodiversity.