European Commission auditors visit the Joyel Marisma to assess the actions carried out under CONVIVE LIFE.
The technical team from the consultancy hired by the European Commission for monitoring and auditing LIFE projects carried out a final visit to the Joyel Marisma before the closure of the CONVIVE LIFE project, led by the Institute of Hydraulics of Cantabria and in which Arnuero Town Hall is a partner.
Taken as a whole, the project aimed to improve environmental conservation and integrate human activities across three estuaries along the Cantabrian coast, Tina Menor, Ría Capitán and Joyel. In each of these areas, different circumstances meant that socio-economic activity influenced the best conditions for conserving protected natural spaces. In the Joyel Marisma, Arnuero Town Hall was responsible for coordinating and carrying out a series of actions designed to improve the conservation status of the estuary. On the one hand, training and staff upskilling, as well as public awareness-raising actions, were carried out; at the same time, on-the-ground physical measures were undertaken with the aim of controlling the spread of macroalgae in the pond of Molino de Santa Olaja, building a sluice gate to allow control of hydrodynamics and water level in order to maintain the most suitable habitat for migratory birds, and eradicating invasive species such as chilca and plumero.
During the visit, the auditing technicians showed their satisfaction with the work carried out, confirming a notable environmental improvement in the estuary, despite the difficulties reported by the municipal managers, since after three years of implementing measures and monitoring it has been possible to verify that controlling these environmental aspects will require ongoing work by the relevant authorities, as complete eradication of opportunistic algae has not been achieved, and it has been observed that the invasive baccharis and cortaderia have a high reproductive capacity and, if a high level of surveillance is not maintained, it is possible that within a few years the environmental improvement reached could be reversed.
This visit, aside from documentary control, brings the CONVIVE LIFE project to an end, which will be formally closed on 20 October next, after four years of shared management involving a large group of partner organisations. One of the most noteworthy values of CONVIVE LIFE has been the ability to coordinate an initiative that brought together both research institutions such as the IHC, regional and municipal administrations, and representatives of conservation organisations and private companies whose activities are linked to the estuaries.
