“Environmental problems are the most difficult challenge which are faced by the XXI century humanity”, because they are the result of a socio-economic model based on consumption of a privileged minority, “sustained by social values” where the most important is "the conversion of natural goods into accumulation of concentrated capital” (Calvo & Gutiérrez, 2007:17).This has caused an environmental global crisis, but especially at the micro level (regional and local) is where their effects are being more devastating.

 As Caride (2008) argues the environmental crisis has solutions, but are from an individual, collective and cultural responsibility and of course action is needed at the institutional and political level.

Considering the rural space, and natural space that hosts it as priority victims of the environmental crisis, there has been a convergence between environmental objectives both at European and national policies, taking as its starting point the Conference on Environment and Development United Nations in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 (Tolón, Lastra & Ramírez, 2008)

At European level are developed policies, programs and various instruments that promote Sustainable Rural Development (SRD) based on empowerment of villagers, some socioeconomic balance in harmony with nature conservation, such as Community Agrarian Policy (CAP), LEADER I, II and + and PRODER Programs or the European Charter for Mountains; accompanied by other policies and regulatory guidelines of protected natural areas that promote the conservation and protection of the natural environment, advocating sustainable development based on the endogenous potential and local, such as Directive 79/409/EEC (Birds Directive), Directive 92/43/EEC (the Habitats Directive), Natura 2000,…(Muñoz & Benayas, 2012)

            In Spain we also find different laws and regulatory documents that adapt to European guidelines and national level, as the Law 45/2007 of 13 December for Sustainable Rural Development and Law 42/2007, of 13 December, Heritage nature and Biodiversity.

In those documents environmental education is presented as one of the management tools in the process of rural revaluation and maintenance of the countryside; considering the Environmental Education (EE) as a "permanent process in which individuals and communities become aware of their environment and learning the knowledge, values, skills, experience and determination to enable them to act, individually and collectively to solve environmental problems and future " (International Conference on Education and Training Environment, Moscow, 1987 quoted in Calvo & González, 1999:8)

The study explores how European and national legislation is adapted locally in a specific context, in this case Liébana, region in the North of Spain,that belongs to the National Park Picos de Europa. Our study focuses on how various initiatives contribute to achieving the EE guidelines concerning (SRD) and Protected Natural Areas (PNA).

 There are two main objectives of this investigation: characterize the relationship between Environmental Education and Sustainable Rural Development in areas related to Protected Natural Areas; and analyze the relevance, defined as the sufficiency, appropriateness and adequacy of Environmental Education initiatives developed in rural areas linked to Protected Natural Areas, particularly in the case of the Liébana and the National Park Picos de Europa. These objectives are specified in three specific:

 1. Analyze from a normative perspective how it is contributed from Environmental Education to Rural Development of communities linked to protected natural areas.

2. Explore the knowledge that young people from Liébana have of different environmental education initiatives taking place in the region and the perception of environmental issues of it.

3.  Explore the opinion that teachers and environmental agents in Liébana have on environmental education initiatives taking place in the region and the perception of environmental problems of it.

In this paper we focus these objectives, which  have been approached from a descriptive and exploratory perspective.

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