Cash to preserve the dunes
AN INVESTMENT of €1.5 million to preserve the system of sand dunes in Guardamar del Segura is being made by the regional government.
The area concerned spreads across 539 hectares along 12.6 kilometres of coastline. This will be used to remove dead pine trees and exotic, invasive species of flora, to install passive sand traps and to restore the plant cover with native species, explained regional environment councillor Elena Cebrián to the regional parliament.
This has been a long-standing demand and work will begin in a few months, she assured.
The aim is to create mosaics of woody shrubs between the pine trees which are more resistant to drought and extreme weather conditions, and will help to fix the dunes in place.
The restored plant cover will be more diverse than it is now and will enable different uses for the area to coexist, such as recreational pursuits and educational activities about the natural space and its vegetation.
Dead and weakened pine trees that pose a risk of spreading infestations will be cut down and particularly dense areas of them will be thinned.
The project has a budget of €1,487,201 and is co-financed with EU FEDER funds.
The area includes the Guardamar sand dunes, the Santa Pola salt lakes natural park and parts of San Fulgencio and Elche. Parts of it are protected by the EU as being in the Natura 2000 network, Sites of Community Importance (SCI) and Special Protection Areas (SPA) for birds.
The project has been agreed between workers for the regional environment department and Guardamar and Elche town halls, in consultation with the centre for research into desertification (CIDE).