Calpe will renaturalise the urban section of the Quisi and Pou Roig ravines
Calpe Town Council will soon put out to tender the drafting of the project to renaturalise the urban section of the Quisi and Pou Roig ravines. This is the first step in a project that is highly desired by the current government team, which will involve the removal of invasive species and their replacement with native vegetation to increase the biodiversity of the environment and improve and guarantee the safety of the ravine.
The draft of the technical project has a base budget of 30,000 euros and is expected to be carried out within nine to 11 months. The project will include the removal of Arundo Donax, an invasive species that proliferates in the ravine bed, to prevent possible obstructions that could cause the river to overflow in the event of heavy flooding. It was precisely during such an incident that local police officer Juan Manuel Policarpo Moll lost his life in the line of duty in September 2022. To eradicate this invasive species, the solarisation technique will be used, involving black tarpaulins to reach high temperatures that kill the plant's roots, after which native species will be planted.
The project now out to tender only covers the urban section of the Quisi and Pou Roig ravines, which is the responsibility of Calpe Town Council, although the council's aim is for these measures to be carried out along the entire length of the Quisi ravine, much of which runs through the municipality of Benissa. For this reason, the Calpe Town Council, together with the Benissa Town Council, have formed a group to apply for grants 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), and have committed to working together to obtain authorisation from the CHJ, which has jurisdiction over the non-urban section of the ravine, and thus make this project a reality.
This first project, which will be put out to tender shortly, will also include the renaturalisation of the Saleta park, a municipal park located next to the Quisi, which is also invaded by many Arundo Donax reeds, with the aim of converting it into a riverside forest.
Once the project has been drawn up, Calpe Town Council will carry out the planned work, for which it will have a budget of £145,000.
‘We estimate that by the end of the legislative term we will begin to see the results of a much-needed project in Calpe that will benefit the health of our environment and improve safety in the event of torrential rains, which are becoming increasingly frequent due to climate change and can cause the ravines to overflow,’ said the Councillor for the Environment, Pere Moll.