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Reference Date: 26-07-98
Experience selected in the 1998 Dubai Award for Best Practice, and catalogued as GOOD.
(
Best Practices Database.)
País/Country: Spain
United Nations Region: Europe
Ecological region: river basin
Activity: town/city
Partnerships: Local Authority. Foundation. Central Government.
Regional Government.
Themes = Children and Youth: 0-9 years; 10 years to adult;
children's participatory planning and leadership development;
community support programmes. Environmental Management: ecological
sustainability; urban greening. Land Use Management: land-use
planning; open space conservation.
Main contact:
Ayuntamiento (Local Authority)
Josep M. Llop Tornè
Plaza Paeria 11
Lleida
Spain 25007
Tel: +34-97 37 00 309
Fax: +34-97 32 38 953
E-mail: jmllop@peria.es
Partner:
Regional Government of Catalonia (Regional Government)
Rambla Ferran 21
Lleida
Spain
25007
Tel: +34-97 32 21 588
Partner One Support Type: Financial Support
Partner:
Ministry for Development (Central Government)
Plaza Santa Joan 22
Lleida
Spain
25007
Tel: +34-97 32 47 108
Partner Three Support Type: Financial Support
Partner:
Caixa D'Estalvis de Catalunya (Foundation)
Joaquim Llach Mascaró
Provença 261-265
Barcelona
Spain
08008
Tel: +34-93 48 45 900
Fax: +34-93 48 45 916
Partner Three Support Type: Financial Support
Nominating Organization
Marta García Nart
Spanish National Committee
Paseo de la Castellana 67
28071 Madrid
Spain
Tel: +34-91 597 75 72
Fax: +34-91 597 86 04
E-mail: mgnart@mfom.es
Financial Profile:
Total budget for investment pesetas 4,044 million (approximate)
Contribution from the partner (A) 60%
Contribution from the partner (B) 27.5%
Contribution from the partner (C) 1%
City Council of Lleida 11.5%
Implementation of the process for public works and restoration of
the environment with environmental education projects.
Creation of an environmental education centre (la Mitjana) and recovery of an area of natural interest for the use of the citizens.
1. Situation before the initiative began
It could be said that the flood of the river Segre that caused an
inundation of part of the city of Lleida (population of 110.000
inhabitants) at 1982, was the main reason for the citizens to claim
the improvment and restauration of the river, that conduced to
actuations that will be explained below.
Citizens of Lleida always felt close to their river, due to it
runs through the main part of the city. During the decades of
economical and urbanistical expansion of the city between years
1950-1970, the river was not integrated to the city, and therfore
it became an important barrier between the center of the city and
the neibourhoods of the left border of the river (there were only
two bridges with a distance between them of 2 km, in a urban space
of 3,5 km), as well of the marginal encampments of shaks, habited
by people of gypsy ethnia, or by marginaded people. The river was
keeping redoubts of riper vegetation, specially well preserved at
the entrance of the city (in a place called "La Mitjana", but with
clear processes of degradation that endangered its conservation.
The water quality was very poor due to the direct throw of urban
wastewater at the river, leaving great quanities of waste at the
riverside, and the fluvial area was principally used - freetime,
wood extraction, car wash...- by pepole of the marginal encampments
and some spoting people (fisherman and canoeist mainly), specially
at the upper part of the river, at the beggining of the city.
Meanwhile, the townhall began to promote the organization and the
association of the citizens of each neiburgood through out the
neighbouhood associations and the sportive clubs (fisherman,
canoeis), by the subvention and divulgation of activities, cession
of halls, etc.
2. Preparing information and clarifying priorities
The initiative has always been leaded and coordinated by the
townhall of Lleida. Moreover, the coordination of the diferent
institutions involved, and the establishment of important
coopeation links with educational entities of the city, has been
very important. It could be said that this is not a formal project
in their begining, better than this, it was the idea of river that
the city and the citizens wants and a group of coordinated actions
with the same global objectives.
The priorities have been the improvement of water quality and the
proteccion of the people and their properties from future
innundations, and the move of the marginals encampments situaded at
flood areas, and the protection of a natural reserve, of high
ecological value, situated at the entrance of the city.
All this actions have been made, with the goal to incorporate at
the diferent parts of the process, the social groups involved.
3. Formulation of objectives, strategies and mobilization of resorces
The objectives of the project have been the following:
The strategies were related to foment the public participation at
the project stage, specially in the ordenation of the Mitjana and
at the project of canalization of the river, that was followed by
ecologist associations of citizens, arquitect college, neighbour
association of Pardinyes, etc.
Also, incorporating activities of environmental education at the
process (reconnoitring of the Mitjana, guided visist at EDAR),
relating all of the educative community to the discovery and the
land management. Convenant with the Educational Sciences Institute
(ICE) of the University and strategy of maximum implication of the
teachers in the working out the diferent didactic proposals and the
work with students of all educative levels, including research at
university.
There were colaboration agreement with Work-shop School that works
with young students with academic difficulties, that facilitates
them the future employment through out the restoration and
preservation of the Mijana, and afterall the urban park of the
city.
The achivement of the economical resources was a very important
conditonant because the total cost of the actions was beyond the
possibilties of investment of a local public institution of a
medium city. It was of high relevance the partial actions done by
the state public institution and the authonomic public institutions
that paid the total cost of the construction of the urban park
of the river Segre, of two bridges, of the waste water network, and
of the wastewater treatment station (EDAR). The Maintown, has
invested in another brigde, the adequacy of the natural park
of La Mitjana, and the creation of an Environmental Education
School. All this actions were stimulated and negociated politically
by the goverment team of the Maintown whom, together with the
technical leadership, has leaded and coordinated a great part of
the actions (specially those related to urbanistic matters:
construction of riper park, the wastewater treatment station
(EDAR), the bridges, etc).
4. Process
Which problems have been appearing through out the process and how
they have been solved?
There were social problems of movement of marginal communities
encamped at the riversides. Partial solution were to improve basic
facilities, prebuilt housing, continuous atention by social
services, scolarization, edible water, etc..
Nowadays it has still not been possible integrate this housings to
the rest of the city due to the lack of pact between the local
public administrations and the authonomical one, both responsables
of this case.
There were problems of improvement of the water quality of the
river, too. It depends of a proper sanitation of the upper waters
of the river, and it is necessari an increase of the water flow,
specially in summer time (at upper parts of the river 60 m3/s of
conceded water is directed to the Serós channel, with a return of
only 2 m3/s to its way of the city, some days in summer). This
problem has not been solved yet, it could be studied the
possibility to buy a part of the concession of water but it is
first needed the aprovement of the "Hidrological Planning of Spain"
that will control the ecological flows of the rivers and that
probably will allow the expropiation of part of the concession.
5. Results achieved
There are fisical results, who anyone can see if visits the city,
and social results who are inside the citizens.
Among the fisical results, the more importants are: the urban park
has been created and supresses the barrier effect of the river in
the city, the water quality has been improved, a Center of
Environmental Education has been established, and proposals of
different collectives incorporated to the process have appeared
(proposals of new projects with the fishermen, for instance). Among
the social ones, people participate with the Environmental
Education projects organized at the city, there are a cooperative
from the Whork-shop school who takes care of the river park, and
citizens of Lleida use the river park.
The main impact on the practices of the social, environmental and
economical features of the city has been the creation of a large
urban park widely known and utilised by the citizens, the
environmental restoration of a riverside (La Mitjana) that can be
used as a model of how the riverside of the rest of the river
extension should be, and how the protection of a fluvial ecosystem
of high natural interest should be.
There are also positive influence of the dinamization of the
comercial centre and the city-center facilities (with the attached
problems of the historical center of the city), in improve the
access and acting as a point of atraction.
The results have been measured in a qualitative way and are
represented by the accions done and in the number of people that
uses the mentioned areas and the facilities created with them (
utilization of the river: 5000 primary students anually participate
in ôLleida en Viuö, 600 adult people in guided visits, etc,
agreement signed 6 years ago with Educacional Sciences Institut
(ICE) of the University, strong cooperative).
Whe have detected a change of atitudes and behaviour towards the
utilization of the La Mitjana Park in contrast of what it used to
be.
Unfortunately, some drop-out uses have not desapeared but moved to
other locations. However there is a higher collective consciousness
of the needs of the preservation of the nature reserve.
6. Sustain
There is not a great changes in the sostenibility of the city but
we can detected little and important changes who add interest to
work in the same direction:
The environmental education is a basic instrument for the
management of the environment. Wihtout the incoporation of the
people to management of the living space, the regulation measures,
and the constant watchfulness is not efective enough. This is a
lesson specially statde in Natural Parks of Catalonia like
Collserola, Zona Volc.nica de la Garrotxa, Aiguamolls de
lAEEmprtd.à from which it was used the idea
Thinking a global idea or project were you can add diferent
inititives from institutions is very important (it needs important
coordination, yet) and, ever, working with the citizens who will be
the users and the people who enjoy the city.
7. Transferability
Like we say in the explanation, the most important learns of our
initative are the idea of the environmental education as a basic
instrument for management of the environement, and the need of
have a global idea or project were you can add diferent inititives
from institutions. We think that this is our mean learned lesson
and our mean aportation to another experiencies: show how it is
possible.
Our project have been visited from town council tecnicians of
another middle cities in Catalonia (Spain) like Vic, Manresa or
Mataro.
References:
Documents from local press and local journals.
See press dossier.
| 1998 Spanish Best Practices selected by the International Jury > http://habitat.aq.upm.es/bpes/onu98/bp445.en.html |