The town councils of Calpe and Benissa have formed a group to apply for aid in the latest call for proposals from the Biodiversity Foundation, of the Ministry of Ecological Transition, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in order to carry out the re-naturalization of the Quisi ravine.
This is a much demanded and sought-after project by both municipalities that would improve and guarantee the safety of the ravine as well as increase its biodiversity. The project would involve the elimination of Arundo Donax reeds, an invasive species, which would minimise the risk of the ravine overflowing in the event of heavy rainfall. It should be remembered that this ravine, like many others in the Mediterranean basin, has hardly any flow in the dry season, which can increase dramatically in situations of torrential rain. It was precisely in an event of this nature that Local Police officer Juan Manuel Policarpo Moll lost his life in the line of duty in September 2022.
The town councils of Calpe and Benissa have held several meetings since then to address this issue, as well as with the Júcar Hydrographic Confederation, which has the authority to act on the ravine. Now both councils have decided to take advantage of the European aid programme managed by the Biodiversity Foundation, aimed at the development and consolidation of green infrastructures for the re-naturalisation and resilience of Spanish cities, and have committed to working together to obtain authorisation from the CHJ and thus make this project a reality.
The initiative, called ‘Espai verd i blau del Mediterrani Calpe-Benissa’ (Green and blue space of the Mediterranean Calpe-Benissa), would make it possible, on the one hand, to eliminate the large number of Arundo Donax reed beds using the solarisation technique - with black tarpaulins with which a high temperature is reached that kills the root of the plant - and then plant native species. All this with the ultimate aim of uniting both towns through a large greenway.
The project has a total budget of 2,250,000 euros, of which 1,400,000 euros would correspond to the actions located in Benissa - which would affect the 6.5 kilometres of the ravine that run through this municipality, in addition to its tributaries - and the remaining 850, 000 to Calpe, that is to say, to the 5.2 kilometres of the Quisi that pass through the municipality of Calpe. 60 per cent of the project's cost would be financed with ERDF funds.
Calpe Blau Strategy
The renaturalisation of the Quisi ravine is the star project of the Local Green and Blue Infrastructure Plan ‘Calpe Blau’, a comprehensive strategy of the Calpe City Council to transform the municipality into a sustainable city resilient to climate change. In this sense, Calpe also aspires to obtain these European funds for the drafting of this strategy as well as the execution of three other projects.
On the one hand, the creation of vertical gardens and green roofs on public buildings, the expansion of urban vegetable gardens as well as the regeneration of dunes. The total budget for the strategy with the four projects, which would be carried out over a period of three years, amounts to nearly 3,500,000 euros.