Cabo Roig in Orihuela Costa and Cabo de la Huerta, Alicante declared Special Conservation Areas
The Government is working to make human activity compatible with natural habitats in the two areas
The Generalitat Valenciana has approved the declaration of the coast of Cabo de la Huerta, in Alicante, and Cabo Roig, in Orihuela Costa, as Special Conservation Areas, where the biodiversity of the environment must be protected.
Until now, the two areas in question have been catalogued as Sites of Community Importance. Now however the sites are to become “areas of great environmental interest” and integrated into the Natura 2000 Network.
Natura 2000 is a European ecological network of biodiversity conservation areas that house habitats and species of community interest to the European Union.
The aim of this measure that has been taken by the council is to “protect biodiversity and pay special attention to the compatibility between human activities and the conservation of habitats and species.”
Alongside the declaration of Special Conservation Areas, the council has also approved the management regulations with the measures necessary for responding to ecological requirements.
The regional secretary for the Environment, Raúl Mérida, stated in an interview last September that the government was going “to approve the consideration of the Cabo de la Huerta in Alicante and the Cabo Roig coastline in Orihuela as Special Conservation Zones.”
For the secretary “this approval is a historic milestone.” Mérida then continued to stress that “Cabo de la Huerta is one of the most emblematic areas of the Alicante coast,” so “it deserved to be treated with the importance it has.”
The Cape remained untouched until the end of the 1950s. Spain’s urban expansion boom in the 1960s attracted tourism and the city's wealthiest people began to see the Cabo de la Huerta area in a different way. The coastline then became populated with houses and people, and the biodiversity of the area began to change rapidly.
In the case of the Alicante coast, the decision will only affect the area around Cala Cantalar, covering one hectare. Among the species to be protected within this new program, a small mollusc named 'Dendropoma Lebeche' is in danger of extinction. Aleppo pine and other native vegetation are also to be protected in the new program.
As for Cabo Roig, the area became controversial last year when the poor condition in which the palm trees were maintained caused havoc in the area. This is the reason why the first action to be taken in the area following the new program coming into place will be controlloing the palm trees by reducing their foliage and their risk of falling.
For more information, news and what’s on visit our homepage at Alicante Today
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