Santa Coloma de Gramenet has given new impetus to the renaturalization of the Besòs River with the approval of the second phase of the biodiversity refuge, which adds improvements to the development of river flora and fauna. The investment, of 2.8 million, is financed by European Next Generation funds. The Minister of Ecological Transition, Teresa Rivera, will inaugurate this second phase today, accompanied by the mayor, Núria Parlon.
The project protects three kilometers of the river channel and promotes the self-regeneration processes of the ecosystem. The objective is for birds, amphibians and mammals to establish themselves in this area, which favors, among others, the subsistence of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla), in critical danger of extinction. More than 80 species of birds have already been detected in the regenerated riverbed, as well as several mammals.
The works will begin in summer and will continue for a year, when the start of the last phase is scheduled. The one inaugurated today by the Minister of Ecological Transition stands out for the restoration of the Rec Comtal space, whose good quality water will give rise to new phreatic ponds. Access will also be modified to avoid the excessive presence of people, often with loose dogs, which endanger biodiversity. The plan will enable an ecological connector between the Sierra de Marina and Collserola and another to Can Zam.
In the last bend of the river, an island of biodiversity is created, at a point where more than 17,000 trees, shrubs and other species will be planted. The island will create new habitats for threatened fauna and flora and generate nesting areas for protected birds, such as the little plover. Action will also be taken on the service roads and the naturalized ramp between the artificial wetlands with an area of riverside trees with alders and aquatic plants. Likewise, an ecological corridor will be built under the BV-5001 highway that will connect the Besòs river with the Marina mountain range, next to the ramp and the wall, which will be naturalized and will be separated from the riverbed by a wild, non-irrigated meadow that will allow it to connect with Can Zam park.
At another point in the riverbed, a new pond will be built with water from the Rec Comtal, which technicians judge to be of very good quality. In flood-prone areas there will be planting areas. These lagoons are fed by the Montcada treatment plant and flow into the river, which prevents damage in the event of a polluting discharge.
The last phase of the biodiversity refuge will begin between 2025 and 2026 with an investment of one million euros that will be assumed by the Santa Coloma City Council and the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB), the same as with the first phase. In the last stage, river meadows will be generated on the left bank, downstream of Can Zam, and the great ecological connector between the Marina mountain range and the river will be consolidated, through the Bosc Llarg torrent.
Within two years, the plan will have extended three kilometers to both banks of the Besòs. All of this will reaffirm the work started by the municipal government decades ago to recover what in the last century was a polluted river and an open-air sewer, to become a space where “nature and life make their way.” according to Mayor Núria Parlon.
