Azores Azores The Azores ( or ; , ), officially the Autonomous Region of the Azores (""), is one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal (along with Madeira ("Região Autónoma da Madeira"). It is an archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the North Atlantic Ocean about west of continental Portugal, about west of Lisbon, in continental Portugal, about northwest of Morocco, and about southeast of Newfoundland, Canada. Its main industries are agriculture, dairy farming, livestock, fishing, and tourism, which is becoming the major service activity in the region. In addition, the government of the Azores employs a large percentage
Protected areas of the Azores subject to the Natura 2000 convention on habitats (such as Council-Directive 92/43/CEE 21 May 1992, regarding the preservation of natural habitats for wildlife and plants). Similarly, the protection of migratory and wild species of birds is framed within the European bird convention. Given the diverse habitats and ecosystems that exist in the Azores, and following the expansion of the Natura 2000 into Azores, the Regional Government sought to implement an environmental model which was based on management criteria with uniform set of designations, in order to classify protected areas. Using the island as the territorial management unit the Government of