-
- Click Here for more information
- Region
- Vega baja
- Marina Alta
- Marina Baixa
- Alicante
- Baix Vinalopo
- Alto & Mitja Vinalopo
-
ALL TOWNS
- ALICANTE TOWNS
- Albatera
- Alfaz Del Pi
- Alicante City
- Alcoy
- Almoradi
- Benitatxell
- Bigastro
- Benferri
- Benidorm
- Calosa de Segura
- Calpe
- Catral
- Costa Blanca
- Cox
- Daya Vieja
- Denia
- Elche
- Elda
- Granja de Rocamora
- Guardamar del Segura
- Jacarilla
- Los Montesinos
- Orihuela
- Pedreguer
- Pilar de Horadada
- Quesada
- Rafal
- Redovan
- Rojales
- San Isidro
- Torrevieja
- Comunidad Valenciana
- EDITIONS: Spanish News Today Murcia Today Andalucia Today
article_detailDate Published: 14/09/2021ARCHIVED ARTICLEARCHIVED - Ecologists propose creating a renaturalized strip around the Mar Menor of 15,000 hectares
Ecologists in Action believe that the solution lies in creating wetlands and areas of natural vegetation
Environmental group Ecologists in Action has presented a proposal to the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (Miteco) that a 15,000 hectare protective strip be created around the Mar Menor to promote 'renaturation' by limiting agricultural and urban activity.
The objective would be "to contribute to the resolution of the eutrophic crisis which has affected the lagoon, which has been caused mainly by the contributions of agricultural fertilizers" and which "has become palpable again this summer with the massive death of fish and crustaceans in its waters," the organisation said in a statement (see latest data published this week which illustrates the deterioration of the lagoon during the last year).
"In the analysis, the administrative situation and the uses of the land near the lagoon have been studied, trying to achieve a coherent and viable proposal," they say.
One of the main arguments of the ecologists is that in order for the process of eutrophication (which is the explosion of algae that makes the waters turn green , nitrogen and phosphorus need to enter the lagoon, and although they recognise that chemicals do flow into the waters via the rambla del Albujón, they also maintain that these also enter the water via sediment, and filtration through the soil, and into the lagoon during floods, insisting that natural wetlands are the solution to deal with this issue naturally and during the long-term.
The organisation says that the origin of the increase in nutrients in the Mar Menor "is not only found in the intensive use of fertilizers and agrochemicals in the agricultural industry, but is also influenced by the cultivation techniques used around its shores".
They explain that traditional dry landscape farming has been abandoned in favour of intensively irrigated crop farming, but by this process the natural breaks which were in place have also been removed.
Dry crop farming used a system of terraces to control the flow of water, encouraging the natural rainfall to pool on flat terraced areas, which were fringed with vegetation and low stone walls. This system of farming encourgaed the retention of water by its very structure and also limited the process of water running; the replacement of this traditional system by larger, sloping fields, encourages excess water to run-off down into the irrigation channels and therefore on into the Mar Menor, the sediment carrying nutrients into the waters, as well as encouraging erosion.
Previously, the lagoon was also surrounded by the type of natural scrubby marshland, acting as a natural sponge to soak up floodwaters, that acted as a natural brake on sediments and nutrients.
Their proposal to create a 'renaturalized' perimeter strip, will recover land and use sediment retention functions and natural denitrification (ie creating marshy strips which absorb the nutrients, which are very effective, as can be seen in the Marina del Carmolí area.Spokesperson for Ecologists in Action of the Murcian Region, Pedro Luengo, maintains that "the proposed 'renaturalized' strip would be established in a perimeter area that represents 12 per cent of the cultivated area where the limitations on agricultural and urban activity would be the most restrictive, and in which 'renaturation' and recovery of soil and nutrient retention functions would prevail ".
The proposal also identifies some 3,000 hectares of unprotected and undeveloped land that could be included within a public acquisition program to restore wetlands.
The problems facing the Mar Menor are very complex. CLICK HERE to find out more (full background document in English).
Image: Ecologists in Action
article_detail
staff.inc.ali
LoadingContact Murcia Today: Editorial 966 260 896 / Office 968 018 268
To be listed on the CAMPOSOL TODAY MAP please call +34 968 018 268.
To be listed on the CONDADO TODAY MAP please call +34 968 018 268.
Guidelines for submitting articles to Camposol Today
Hello, and thank you for choosing CamposolToday.com to publicise your organisation’s info or event.
Camposol Today is a website set up by Murcia Today specifically for residents of the urbanisation in Southwest Murcia, providing news and information on what’s happening in the local area, which is the largest English-speaking expat area in the Region of Murcia.
When submitting text to be included on Camposol Today, please abide by the following guidelines so we can upload your article as swiftly as possible:
Send an email to editor@camposoltoday.com or contact@murciatoday.com
Attach the information in a Word Document or Google Doc
Include all relevant points, including:
Who is the organisation running the event?
Where is it happening?
When?
How much does it cost?
Is it necessary to book beforehand, or can people just show up on the day?
…but try not to exceed 300 words
Also attach a photo to illustrate your article, no more than 100kb