JARA - Sustainable tourism and environmental restoration in

 JARA - Sustainable tourism and
environmental restoration in territory affect
for the mining action
LIFE02 ENV/E/000199
Project description Environmental issues Beneficiaries Administrative data R e a d m o r e Contact details:
Project Manager: Pedro MARTOS MIRALLES
Tel: 34 670086346
Fax: 34 (968) 536173
Email: [email protected]
Project description:
Background
Spain has a rich historical and cultural heritage of mining. Some of the country’s
many mining sites have been abandoned for a long time. In others, their history
lives on. In the Sierra mountain range in the most south eastern part of the
Murcia for example, intense mining activity for the extraction of minerals began
some 2,500 years ago and continues today. However, mining activities have
significant negative effects on the environment; large quantities and different
types of waste are produced. These vast quantities of waste and toxic substances
are usually disposed of in the land around the mines themselves, and inevitably
lead to contamination of the soil and water. This project seeks in to restore and
conserve Spain’s historical heritage of mining in the Sierra mountain range while
at the same time encouraging environmentally-conscious tourism activities. Objectives
The JARA project aimed to promote sustainable tourism to help overcome the
existing environmental problems in an area - the Sierra Minera of Cartagena-La
Unión - which has been ravaged by mining activities and provide an alternative
to the prevalent mass tourism model. The operational objectives were: 1. To
develop a strategy for environmental and cultural tourism, with an evaluation of
the risks and the environmental bearing capacity of the area. 2. To identify and
recover cattle paths and roadways and linking these routes to places of cultural
recover cattle paths and roadways and linking these routes to places of cultural
or natural interest in the area. This was to be a means of facilitating
public/recreational/tourist/cultural use of a area which has suffered from a
problem of land ownership i.e. the land was in the hands of the company
responsible for the former mining operations. 3. To carry out environmental
restoration pilot experiences, restore the mining heritage in the area and link
these activities to sustainable tourism projects. 4. To develop integrated tourism
products, with genuine respect for the environment. 5. To generate knowledge,
methodologies and skills which could be transferred throughout the region of
the Sierra Minera and to other areas with similar problems. Results
The main objectives of the project (to promote a new model of sustainable
tourism by means of the creation of an eco-cultural tourist service in a region
suffering from extensive environmental damage and a socio-economic crisis and
to establish general criteria to carry it out in similar sites/circumstances) have
been achieved and the results could be considered as satisfactory as regards the
environmental restoration and recovery to the public use of an area which was
abandoned by the Public Administrations for years. As a result of the actions
carried out during the project, not only were the public very interested in visiting
the area but the Public Administrations were also going to consider extending
similar actions to different sites of the Sierra Minera-La Unión. The project was
preceded by an in-depth preparation process, undertaken by a team of qualified
professionals (architects, biologists, sociologists, etc.). This process was informed
by the analysis and conclusions set forth in the following projects and studies: •
Proyecto Araar (1998-99), co-financed by the European Commission and the
CARM, within the framework of the “Acción Piloto Tercer Sistema y Empleo”. A
wide-ranging study on employment in the sectors related to the improvement of
the environment and cultural heritage was carried out. Using this study, the
technical documentation on the “Project for Restoration of the Matilde and
Blanca Mines and Surrounding Area” was prepared. • Feasibility study carried
out in the framework of the Proyecto Araar (1999) on the possibilities for a
business project in this sector of ecological and cultural tourism in the Sierra
Minera, confirming its economic viability. • “Proyecto Huerto Pío” promoted by
the Sierra Minera Foundation and co-financed through the PRODER Programme.
This project entailed the creation of an environmental park and silvicultural
operation based on “Sabina Mora” and other native species with possibilities for
use in environmental restoration processes for soils contaminated by mining. An
important dimension of the Jara project was the holistic approach it had to
providing a response to various problems such as environmental degradation,
socio-economic crisis and the deterioration and loss of value in a cultural
heritage. The project can be a reference point for the restoration and
regeneration of the entirety of Sierra Minera, and act as a model for other areas
of Spain and the rest of Europe which are affected by the abandonment of
mining. Significant results of the projects included: - The restoration of the Las
Matildes mine which has been turned into a modern Mining and Environmental
Interpretation Centre of the Sierra Minera, offering a new model of sustainable
tourism in the area. - The setting up of an integrated cultural and ecological
tourism service, which offers a wide variety of guided tours throughout the area.
- The recovery of cattle routes and ways in the surroundings of the Sierra Minera
of Cartagena-La Unión. - The environmental restoration of the area around the
two mines ('Matilde' and 'Blanca'). - 3 direct jobs (eco-cultural guides) and 7
indirect jobs (support personnel) linked to the Mining-Environmental
Interpretation Centre were created in the “Mina Matilde”. This is important
because the region has suffered from general environmental damage and a
socio-economic crisis when the mining activity was stopped. Dissemination and
related actions were a weak point of the project. Activities foreseen at the
international level were not carried within the project duration. According to the
“After LIFE Communication Plan” these were to be carried out in
October/December 2005. The costs related to these activities were to be covered
by the co-financers of the project. A seminar on sustainable tourism was
planned to take place in Cartagena from 30 March to 2 April 2006. Top
Environmental issues addressed:
Themes
Industry-Production - Mining - Quarrying
Services & Commerce - Tourism and Accommodation
Risk management - Site rehabilitation - Decontamination
Keywords
abandoned industrial site‚ ecotourism‚ mine‚ restoration measure Target EU Legislation
Waste Directive 75/442/EEC -"Waste framework directive" (15.07.1975)
Directive 91/689 - Hazardous waste (12.12.1991)
COM(1996)399 - Communication on an updated "Community strategy for
waste management" (30.07.1996) ...
Directive 1999/31 - Landfill of waste (26.04.1999)
Directive 2000/76 - Incineration of waste (04.12.2000)
Nature protection and Biodiversity
Directive 79/409 - Conservation of wild birds (02.04.1979)
Directive 92/43 - Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and
flora- Habitats Directiv ...
COM(2001)162 -"Biodiversity Action Plan for the conservation of natural
resources (vol. I & II)" ...
Natura 2000 sites
Not applicable
Top
Beneficiaries:
Coordinator
Type of organisation
Description
Partners
Fundación Sierra Minera
NGO-Foundation
The Sierra Minera Foundation is a third sector
organisation which is made up of voluntary
sector organisations who represent the
communities of La Sierra Minera de Cartagena La Unión, an area which has been traditionally
damaged by mining. CAJA DE AHORROS DE MURCIA DIRECCION
GENERAL DE CULTURA DE LA CARM
SECRETARIA SECTORIAL DE TURISMO DE LA
CARM AYUNTAMIENTO DE CARTAGENA
SECRETARIA SECTORIAL DE AGUA Y MEDIO
AMBIENTE DE LA CARM Top
Administrative data:
Project reference
Duration
Total budget
EU contribution
Project location
LIFE02 ENV/E/000199
01-JAN-2003 to 31-DEC -2005
1,106,357.97 €
541,840.00 €
Murcia(España)
Top
Read more:
CD-ROM
Project web site
Publication: Article-Paper
Title: Sustainable tourism and environmental
restoration in territory affect for the mining
action - DVD Project's website
Title: "Riesgos ambientales en caminos públicos
y vías pecuarias en el Ámbito de la sierra
minera de cartagena-la unión (murcia, España),
en relación con actividades de senderismo y
turismo Cultural" (323 KB) Author: García, C.,
Manteca, J.I., Martos, P., Robledo, A. No of
Publication: Layman report
Publication: Proceedings
Publication: Technical report
Publication: Technical report
pages: 10 Title: Layman report Year: 2005 No of pages: 11 Title: "Estrategias para el desarrollo de un
turismo sostenible en la sierra minera de
cartagena –la unión : VI Jornadas sobre
Alternativas de Desarrollo en Comarcas
Mineras : Conclusiones" (523 KB)
Editor: Fundación Sierra Minera No of pages: 23 Title: "Estudio sobre la capacidad de acogida
relativa al uso de senderos en el marco del
Proyecto Jara" (411 KB) Editor: Fundación Sierra
Minera No of pages: 19 Title: Inventario del medio biológico y recursos
ambientales de la Sierra Minera de Cartagena y
La Unión. Author: Navarro Cano José Antonio
Year: 2004 Editor: Fundacion Sierra Minera No
of pages: 43 Top
Project description Environmental issues Beneficiaries Administrative data R e a d m o r e