The director of the Biodiversity Foundation, a public foundation of the Government of Spain, under the Ministry of the Environment, Rural and Marine Affairs, Ana Leiva, presented today, in Deba (Guipúzcoa), the project “Recovery of riparian vegetation in the Deba estuary to improve the quality of its ecosystem”.

The Biodiversity Foundation collaborates with the Debanatura Environmental Education Association in the development of this initiative whose ultimate objective is the restoration and conservation of the river ecosystem of the Deba estuary. To this end, the association considers citizen participation as one of the main axes of the project through the implementation of an outreach and awareness campaign, workshops and volunteering.

The situation on the banks of the Deba is alarming due to the expansion of an invasive plant, the “Reynoutria japonica”, which appears in the Basque Catalogue of invasive species to be eradicated, and which is worryingly altering the river’s ecosystem. At the same time, the riparian-mixed forest is very scarce, and requires urgent action to recover this vegetation and the ecosystem it represents due to the fundamental ecological function it fulfils, among others, that of minimising the effect of floods.

The project “Recovery of riparian vegetation in the Deba estuary to improve the quality of its ecosystem”, which will be developed throughout 2009, aims to contribute to the elimination of invasive exotic plants in the estuary, the recovery of natural riparian vegetation, the cleaning of waste on the banks and awareness of the riparian ecosystem at local and regional level. The scope of action covers an area of 15 hectares in the Meander of Lasao, in the Deba estuary.

Within the framework of this project, it is also intended to promote citizen participation in the recovery of riparian vegetation, as well as to socialize the river, that is, to recover the “culture of the river” and change the negative perception that is currently held about the Deba River.

The initiative pursues clear pedagogical objectives through various awareness-raising activities on the value of the conservation of the riverside ecosystem among the population. The Debanatura Environmental Education Association will launch an exhibition on the estuary of the Deba River, as well as participatory initiatives with schools, where students will be direct protagonists of the recovery of the river.