The Secretary's of State for the Environment visit to the GUARDIAN project
Thus, Juan Antonio Sagredo, mayor of Paterna, and Robert Raga, mayor of Riba-roja de Túria, have explained first-hand the progress of this installation financed by the European Union to increase resilience to fires in 35 hectares of urban interface- forest of the Turia Natural Park.
The visit and explanation that took place in Paterna was also attended by representatives of other partner entities of this project, which is called the GUARDIAN project, among which are Hidraqua, Medi XXI, the Polytechnic University of Valencia, the University of Valencia and Cetaqua.
Currently, this firefighting installation is carrying out the first pilot tests and will be concluded in the first half of 2022. Its financing by the European Union through FEDER funds, part of the interest that the partner entities raised to the call for Urban Innovative Actions, since it is the first time that reclaimed water from treatment will be used for fire fighting. A clear commitment to the circular economy and the use of resources, and specifically drinking water, which is so scarce in the southeast of Spain.
During the visit, Moran highlighted that “Climate change materializes in extreme phenomena that are affecting the entire planet, such as the fires that we have been experiencing in recent months. In this specific case, in the Mediterranean region and in the area covered by the GUARDIAN project, where the connection between urban and natural spaces is immediate, is where it is most difficult to manage this type of fires and where the greatest damage occurs. Hence, today we wanted to visit this project that the mayors of Paterna and Riba-roja de Túria already presented to us a few months ago, in order to be able to learn about this operating model that can be scalable and replicable in other territories ”.
For his part, Sagredo added that "the GUARDIAN project places us at the forefront of hydraulic firefighting infrastructures at an international level, highlighting the importance of public-private collaboration in the fight against climate change and reaffirming the need for initiatives sustainable to preserve and protect the environment ”.
Finally, Raga thanked the Secretary of State for the response, Hugo Morán, to whom he had the opportunity to explain the project on June 24, 2020, together with the mayor of Paterna, and who made the commitment to know the project first-hand.
In that telematic meeting, the political leaders exposed the potential of this innovative and sustainable initiative.
After the visit, Raga was satisfied to have one of "the largest firefighting infrastructures in the world" and reiterated "the importance of continuing to invest with public-private collaboration in the Turia Natural Park, with the repopulation of species indigenous to prevent the proliferation of invasive cane that is fuel for the fire and therefore a risk to the population ".
In recent months, the project has aroused the interest of political representatives who have wanted to see this installation first-hand, such as the case of Mireia Mollà, Regional Minister for Ecological Transition, or Carolina Pascual, Regional Minister for Innovation, Universities, Science and Digital Society .
Visit to GUARDIAN UIA project
Visit to GUARDIAN UIA project
Climate adaptation
