CIREF is working with two grants from the Open Rivers Programme to free 45 km of the Ega river (Navarra)
The Open Rivers Programme was launched in 2021 by the Fundación Arcadia con el objetivo de subvencionar la eliminación de pequeñas barreras y lograr la restauración de los ríos alrededor de Europa.
At the end of 2022, in the second call cycle of the programme, CIREF was awarded two of the 27 grants awarded to 16 European countries. The grants awarded are for: 1) To carry out the preliminary studies and the technical document for the demolition of the Molino de Arquijas barrier, for a total of 22,220€ and 2) To carry out the demolition of the Molino de Gastiáin barrier, for a total of 168,486€.
Both projects are located at the headwaters of the river Ega, in Navarra, and include a process of public participation, the development of communication campaigns aimed at raising public awareness of the importance and need to remove obstacles in the rivers and the processing of the necessary permits to carry out the projects.
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Press release
Call for application
The application period is now open for the contracting of the works for the execution of the demolition project of the Molino de Gastiáin barrier, for a total amount of 86,285.43 € (VAT NOT INCLUDED). Participation is open to natural persons or legal entities, whether public or private, Spanish or foreign, with full capacity to act and sufficient economic and financial solvency to assume the risks derived from the execution of the contract, in addition to the other requirements specified in the regulatory conditions below.
Proposals that comply with the legal, economic and technical conditions will be accepted until 23:59 hours on 5 May 2023 via the CIREF email address: info@cirefluvial.com
Download the documentation and annexes below
Goals and activities
The main objective of the project is to restore the longitudinal continuity of 45 km of the headwaters of the river Ega, a valuable river included in the Natura 2000 Network. And with it:
- Improve the ecological status of the native fish species that inhabit the river Ega, especially the Parachondrostoma miegii and the Achondrostoma arcasii.
- Restore the original habitats of the river, (natural succession of pools and rapids) in exchange for the deep, poorly oxygenated waters dammed by the action of the barriers
- Promote the increase of native fish populations
- Allow the free flow of sediments that are currently deposited in the dammed section, reactivating the river's natural fluvial dynamics
- Build public awareness and knowledge about the value and necessity of removing obstacles in rivers and restoring river ecosystems
Project follow-up
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