Ambassador profile

 

  Name: Luis Andrés Orive
  Function: Director of the Environmental Studies Centre of Vitoria-Gasteiz
  Country: Spain
  E-mail: laorive(at)vitoria-gasteiz(dot)org
  Tel: +34 94516 2696
     
     
 

Organisation profile

 
  Organisation: Environmental Studies Centre
  www: cea.vitoria-gasteiz.org
  E-mail:
ceaadmin(at)vitoria-gasteiz(dot)org
  Tel: +34 94516 2696
  Established: 1990-2005
  Category: Municipal body
  Number of staff: 22 employees depending on the local government (municipality)
Site profile
  Site name:

Salburua Wetland (Salburua Park)

  
  Location:

(ES211) Alava -City of Vitoria-Gasteiz

  
  Land area:

217 ha

  
  Nearest urban settlement:

City of Vitoria-Gasteiz

 
  Natura 2000 ID:

ES2110014

  
  www:

www.vitoria-gasteiz.org/anilloWeb/es/html/1/8.shtml

  
  Annual visitor count:

270,000

  
  Majority of visitors from:

City of Vitoria-Gasteiz

  
  Site description:

This is a suburban zone, situated on the eastern border of the town of Vitoria-Gasteiz, which includes a space of over 200 ha integrated by two wetlands (Betoño and Zurbano ponds), wet oak patches, prairies, some poplar groves and other associated environments
Habitats of European Community Interest: 5 (1 priority habitat) that occupy 27 % of the space. The habitats represented are 6420, 3240, 9160, 92A0 and 6210. Especially noteworthy as a priority habitat is 6210, occupying 0.34 % of the area.

 
       
All species
  Species code Latin name Common / local name
       
  1087 Rosalia alpina
  1356 Mustela lutreola Visón europeo
  A294 Acrocephalus paludicola Carricerín cejudo
       
All habitats (* indicates priority habitats)
  Habitat code Common / local name
     
  3240 Ríos alpinos y la vegetación leñosa de sus orillas de Salix eleagnos
  6210 Prados secos seminaturales y facies de matorral sobre substratos calcareos con notables orquideas / Semi-natural dry grasslands and scrubland facies on calcareous substrates (*important orchid sites)
  6420 Prados mediterráneos de hierbas altas y juncos
  9160 Robledales
  92A0 Bosques galería de Salix alba y Populus alba
     
Stakeholder profile        
     
  Stakeholder activity in the management planning process:
     
  Stakeholder group activity level
  hi ←       → nil
  Local Government        
  Central Government        
  Scientists        
  Private landowners        
  Green NGOs        
  Private sector        
  Private individuals        
  Farmers        
  Recreational groups        
  Other: Schools/ education groups        
  Other: Regional Government        
           
Stakeholder success stories
   
 

Financial Support

Implementation of several environmental education programmes with the collaboration and the financial support of one of the principal city banks of the city ( Caja Vital Kutxa) . Financial support from central and regional government in order to build public facilities (wetland interpretation and visitor center).
   
 

Involvement of the schools, NGOs, hobby groups and general public

The great participation and involvement of the schools, the NGOs, the hobby groups and the general public in all the leisure and educational activities in the area, makes the environmental awareness and the control and surveillance of the areas much easier.
   
 

Lease contract

The establishment of a lease contract with public landowners has made it possible to include a big extension of land into the Natura 2000 area in order to protect it.
   
Photo credit: Quintas Fotógrafos
Communication profile
 

Activities and products for the communication of Natura 2000

 
  Events
 
 
✓Workshops
✓Green Days more info
✓Exhibitions
✓Excursions, guided visits

 
  Event frequency
 
 
✓At least once per week

 
  Use of seasonal workers / volunteers
 
 
✓Yes

 
  Kind of work / volunteering opportunities
 
 
  • Bird ringing
  • Guided tours to the site.

 
  Communication literature produced
 
 
✓Posters
✓Leaflets
✓Magazines / periodicals
✓Guides / maps
✓other: Books
✓other: Scientifc papers

 
  Communication target groups
 
 
✓General public
✓Scientists
✓Stakeholders
✓Local community
✓Site visitors

 
  The organisation has a dedicated communication strategy for Natura 2000
 
 
✓No

 
  Site involved in joint working / networking
 
 
✓Yes

 
  Details of joint working / networking activity
 
 
Being member of Fedenatur (European Federation of Metropolitan and Suburban Natural and Rural Areas) we have obtained valuable information about several subjects concerning the promotion, protection and enhancement of metropolitan or periurban natural areas through management and preservation policies.

 
   
Site management profile
"Wetlands just a stone's throw from the city"
   
  Key site management issues:
 

 

  • Wetland restoration,
  • Biodiversity and landscape improvement and conservation,
  • Environmental education,
  • Training and awareness,
  • Multifunction of natural spaces,
  • Recreation,
  • Integration within the city,
  • Prevention of flooding.

 
  Integration of Natura 2000 in overall site management:
 

 

The area is one of the parks of the greenbelt of the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz. It is set of suburban parks of high ecological and landscape value linked strategically by means of eco-recreational corridors. It offers a large number of different environments containing a wealth of natural features. Woods, rivers, wetlands, meadows, fields, copses and hedges are examples of some of the varied ecosystems that exist in peripheral areas of the city. From a social and public use viewpoint, the Green Belt offers a multitude of opportunities for walking, leisure and the enjoyment of our citizens in contact with nature and it is also becoming the ideal location for educational activities and initiatives and for creating an awareness of environmental issues).

 
  Key site management objectives:
 

 

  • Recover the environmental values and ecological functionality of the old wetlands
  • Offer a "friendly" solution for the eastern boundaries of the city
  • Secure the ecological and recreational continuity of the parks placed around the periphery of the city (Green Belt)
  • Contribute to the work to prevent flooding in the centre of the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz
  • Provide the eastern end of the city with a place suitable for the promotion of environmental awareness and the leisure activities of its citizens
  • Promote scientific research in the area as a key tool to extend our knowledge of this environment as well as to facilitate the subsequent management of the wetlands.

The idea arose as a result of a wish to put an end to more than a century of drainage and degradation of this natural space, which had been subjected to all kinds of impact: poaching, shanty towns, the dumping of waste, etc.

 
  Stakeholders targeted as part of management action:
 

 

  • Local administration
  • Public landowners

 
  Description of work carried out / methods and methodology:
 

 

Methods carried out:

  • Restoration of the lakes
  • Actions designed to prevent flooding
  • Actions designed to restore vegetation and landscaping
  • Incorporation of environmental criteria in the development of the adjacent urban area
  • Creation of new biotopes
  • Creation of leisure and recreational areas and itineraries
  • Creation of facilities for the observation of wildlife
  • Reception and information centre
  • Educational and awareness programmes
  • Research programmes
  • Management tasks and maintenance based on the principles of sustainability
Development of programmes (planning and project) to ensure that all the activities mentioned above are effective.

 
  Results of action and activities:
 

 

  • Increase in biodiversity
  • Integration in the European Natura 2000 network
  • Declaration as RAMSAR area
  • A new park for the city
  • 270,000 visitors per year
  • 2000 schoolchildren take part in educational programmes
  • Improvement in urban quality
  • Well-being and safety in the outlying areas of the city

The ecological importance of this wetland area requires the creation of an open and dynamic place to receive visitors and to provide the basis for an interpretation centre for the wetlands complex: the ATARIA building.

There are a lot of environmental risks that can put the existence of this high ecological value zone in danger. So, nowadays there is a plan for the establishment of a peripheral protection area in order to protect by law the main influence zone of the site.

 
  Indication of budget allocation for these tasks:
 

 

Euros 4,300,000

 

 
   
Financial overview
   
  Organisational budget for nature conservation (annual):
 

 

Annually: Euros 4,200,000

 
  Budget reserved for communication:
 

 

Annually: Euros 2,000,000

 
  European funding:
 

 

 
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Salburua Wetland: ES