- “We cannot take even one step backwards; we now have land on which to build and I believe that going backwards would be very dangerous, especially for farmers and the residents of Campo de Cartagena.”
- 23% of the initial budget of $484 million has already been committed and 16.2% has been executed.
- The vice-president also presented the digital twin, a simulator that will make it possible to prevent catastrophes in the Mar Menor.
The Vice President of the Government and Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera, visited this Thursday the Region of Murcia, where she has claimed the work done so far to recover the Mar Menor and warned against setbacks, during a press conference with the President of the Region, Fernando López Miras: “We can not take a step back; now we have a ground on which to build and I think that going back would be very dangerous, especially for farmers and residents of Campo de Cartagena”.
The vice-president visited the San Pedro del Pinatar I desalination plant and, before representatives of the public administrations and civil society, she presented the progress made in the Framework of Priority Actions for the Recovery of the Mar Menor (MAPMM), the set of measures aimed at recovering the biological integrity of the lagoon, helping to reorganize the socioeconomic uses of its surroundings and making them more compatible with the preservation of the natural capital of this enclave.
INCREASE IN BUDGET TO 675 MILLION
Ribera has announced a new financial allocation of 189 million for the MAPMM. This brings the Framework’s budget to $675.05 million. Among the new actions are the reinforcement of the restoration of the mining mountain range, whose allocation rises from 40 to 110 million; the restoration of the upper basin of Campo de Cartagena (30 million); the new call for aid to adapt the municipal sewage networks (20 million) and a line of subsidies for the adequacy of the livestock sector in addition to that already awarded to the agricultural sector.
Of the MAPMM’s initial budget of 484.4 million, 23% (more than 110 million) has been committed and 16.2% (more than 78.4 million) has been executed.
GEMELO DIGITAL
In addition, at the meeting Ribera presented the digital twin, a 3D modeling tool in which MITECO has invested 650,000 euros and that will allow visual comparisons of changes in water, vegetation or watershed in order to perform simulations and predict and prevent disasters such as floods, pollution episodes and extreme events resulting from climate emergency.
“In the Mar Menor we play the credibility as a society on the possibility and real commitment to recover a precious ecosystem that synthesizes on a small scale what happens in the Mediterranean,” said the vice president. “That is, how in a densely populated area, with very different activities from the mainland, with a beautiful and wonderful ecosystem, if we are careless, things get out of hand,” he explained later.
Ribera also visited one of the farms where Ailimpo’s AgriConCiencia project, which is supported by the Biodiversity Foundation and aims to maintain and recover the natural resources and biodiversity of the area with a beneficial approach to agricultural activity, is working. After the visit to the farm, the Minister met with the President of the Region of Murcia, Fernando López Miras.
During the meeting, Ribera was able to present to the President the latest developments of the MAPMM. They also had the opportunity to discuss water and electricity infrastructure planning.
