Although it covers over 45% of the island’s total surface area, it only houses 1.46% of the island’s residents. Beyond the natural border created by Caldera de Tejeda, there is an entirely different island. The houses disappear and nature is free from human intervention. Once the visitor passes the Roque Nublo the landscape changes quite suddenly and there are no longer any villages to be seen. There are only mountains, ravines and pine forests, the wilder side of Gran Canaria where people are just temporary visitors. According to the UNESCO Man and Biosphere programme, the objective of these reserves is to "promote and demonstrate a balanced relationship between humans and the biosphere". Within this general criteria, environmental, historical and ethnographical values are included, creating a commendable mission that aims to reveal a positive relationship between people and the environment they live in.

The Gran Canarian Biosphere Reserve fulfils the necessary criteria because man has had to adapt to adverse environmental conditions, such as the unrelenting sun, to survive here. Having said this, the island’s inhabitants have enjoyed a beneficial relationship with this area for many long years. Human activity can be seen in the form of small agricultural plots for growing food, that have survived to the present day, as well as a rich archaeological heritage that pays testament to the presence of the ancient Canarians in this area. However, the quality of the land has always played a major role in the development of human activity. In this case, the inaccessibility of the land has had a strong influence on the region’s farmers who were forced to adapt to their surroundings in order to guarantee their survival.

The result of this symbiosis of mutual needs is the creation of an environment which is largely untouched by human hands, where ecological values and environmental conservation are the key players. This area, chosen by the Government of Gran Canaria as the Canary Islands’ fourth Biosphere Reserve, is located in the far west of the Nublo Rural Park. This is an important part of the island and also contains the Inagua Nature Reserve, the Güi-Güi Special Reserve and a large maritime area that covers a large part of the southwestern coast.

In terms of natural features, the reserve includes a variety of ecosystems thanks to altitudes that range from 1,500 metres above sea level down to the western coast of the island. In the middle, the Inagua Nature Reserve is home to the island’s best pine forests, which includes the remains of thermophilic woods, along with palm trees and sabinares (savine groves), and the best examples of coastal ecosystems on the whole island. Geologically speaking, the reserve includes some of the island’s most interesting formations. This area of Gran Canaria is the oldest on the island and the first volcanic materials that created the island can be seen on the surface. The ancient earth has undergone an intense erosion process and millions of years of contact with wind and water have left deep scars on a tortured landscape, throwing up sheer mountains, deep ravines and coastal cliffs hundreds of metres high. This combination has formed a spectacular natural landscape which is breathtaking to behold.

Currently, the Canary Islands have three other Biosphere Reserves (there are a total of 459 within 97 countries worldwide), located in El Hierro, La Palma and Lanzarote. This fourth nomination for Gran Canaria makes the Archipelago into one of the best regions in the world in terms of its environmental quality.