The Biosphere Reserve of the Island of Porto Santo will further stimulate all the effort being made in the sense of guaranteeing and promoting the nature conservation, ensuring the respective compatibility with the socioeconomic development.

The candidate Biosphere Reserve has 2113 taxa, with 298 species mentioned in the IUCN Red List, 66 of which are under greater threat, namely 12 “Critically Endangered”, 14 “Endangered”, 14 “Near Threatened” and 27 “Vulnerable”.

The land harbours an interesting and rich biological diversity, with 1660 taxa, of which 396 are endemic (172 from Porto-Santo, 132 from Madeira and 92 from Macaronesia), with 453 taxa including eight species endemic to Macaronesia, referenced for the marine environment. In the terrestrial part, the percentage of species endemic to Porto Santo is 10.4% and 7.9% to Madeira.

In relation to the biological diversity of the marine environment, there are 453 taxa, with eight taxa endemic to Macaronesia.

In addition to the above, 136 taxa have been identified under the Bern Convention – The Convention on Wild Life and the Natural Habitats in Europe (87 birds, 23 mammals, 9 vascular plants, seven gastropods, three reptiles, three arthropods, two echinoderms, one fish and one cnidarian), 25 taxa under the Bonn Convention - Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (20 birds, four mammals and one reptile), 31 taxa under the CITES – Washington Convention - the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (22 mammals, five birds, two vascular plants, one reptile and one cnidaria), 42 taxa listed in the Birds Directive and 44 taxa in the Habitats Directive (22 mammals, 13 vascular plants, seven gastropods, one reptile and one algae), also showing an elevated number of habitats included in Annex I of the Habitats Directive.