During centuries, the island of Hierro, in the southwest corner of the Canarian archipelago has remained immersed in legends. It was considered a far-away mysterious place where the world seemed to end, the most westerly patch of land, beyond which there was only the endless sea. That is why it could preserve almost untouched its natural and cultural heritage. Today its inhabitants have firmly opted for a sustainable development, creating opportunities and sharing the wealth among the whole population. The island's network of protected areas offers a suitable framework for guaranteeing the conservation and management of the main habitats and species requiring protection. It includes the best examples of laurel forest, wax myrtle-tree heath habitat, juniper, spurges and the habitats of endangered species, including the famous giant lizard of El Hierro, plus the island's abundant and varied bird life. It also covers exceptional landscapes and geological monuments like enormous cliffs and chorded lava formations of great visual beauty. But, as this is an island, the local population could not ignore the sea, so the La Restinga Marine Fisheries Reserve was created at the initiative of the fishermen themselves, thus becoming a genuine model of sustainable fisheries management. Furthermore, El Hierro has a singular man-made landscape, and possibly one of the best conserved in the Canary Islands. For all these reasons, it is hardly surprising that, together with the necessary protection and management of these landscapes, natural habitats and rich historic heritage, the island has opted for the idea of recognising all this as a basic asset for future development. This is the context in which an innovative, quality tourist strategy is being implemented that is friendly to the resources it is based on. Furthermore, in the next few years, El Hierro will become one of the first islands in the world to guarantee its energy supply needs from renewable energy sources. The projects proposed for the island have already become an international benchmark for other islands in the world. 100% RES electricity supply is guaranteed with a mixed system comprised of a 10 Mw wind farm that harnesses the free, but variable energy of the wind to pump water to a reservoir 600 m above sea level. This water, and its potential energy, runs downhill through a pipeline to sea level, where it drives a turbine that produces electricity in accordance with the demands of the moment, thus guaranteeing a quality electricity supply. The system also includes a sea-water desalation plant. Once the reservoirs are full, the desalation plant can cover losses from the system from evaporation and supply irrigation water for the island's foothills farms, thus guaranteeing fruit and vegetable crops, both for domestic consumption and export from the island, and providing forage for the island livestock. On 22nd January, 2000, the island of El Hierro was declared a Biosphere Reserve by the UNESCO.