Murcia, Spain
City population: 442801
Duration: 2009 – ongoing
Implementation status: Ongoing
Scale: Meso-scale: Regional, metropolitan and urban level
Project area: 11180 m2
Type of area: Public Greenspace Area, Other
Last updated: October 2021

This intervention involved the removal of sediment and revitalization of the banks along with the rehabilitation of the urban part of the Segura River in Murcia. This was done to strengthen the environmental condition of the river and improve the visual aspects and the access of citizens to the river (Ref 3 and 7). In 2020, they are building the second part of the project, where the aim is to build three different walkways that join the two sides of the rivers and that will connect specific places along with it (Ref 5).

Bike lane in Murcia River
Bike lane in Murcia River
Source: Ref. 10

Overview

Nature-based solution

  • Grey infrastructure featuring greens
  • Railroad bank and track greens
  • Green playgrounds and school grounds
  • Parks and urban forests
  • Large urban parks or forests
  • Blue infrastructure
  • Rivers/streams/canals/estuaries
  • Green areas for water management
  • Sustainable urban drainage systems

Key challenges

  • Water management (SDG 6)
  • Stormwater and rainfall management and storage
  • Improvements to water quality
  • Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
  • Habitat and biodiversity restoration
  • Green space creation and/or management
  • Regeneration, land-use and urban development
  • Promote natural styles of landscape design for urban development
  • Health and well-being (SDG 3)
  • Creation of opportunities for recreation

Focus

Creation of new green areas, Ecological restoration of ecosystems, Management and improved protection of rivers and other blue areas

Project objectives

The first part of the project included the following goals: -Augment the hydrological capacity of the river; -Improve the habitat and fauna; -Eliminate the negative visual impact of the growth on sediments along the urban section of the river; -Improve the current setting and conditions for carrying out recreational activities in the area. (ref 1) The second part of the project has the main goal of: "recover the spaces for the Murcian families with the river as the central axis" of this. To do so, there will be several projects involved: New Recreation, sport, and cultural zones, as well as the recovery of the natural, landscape, and biodiversity spaces (ref 5 and 6).

Implementation activities

First, draining of sections of the river. The draining of an area of 90 600 m3 of sediments along the river is projected, it will be performed with a suction drainage system. A month before the process starts, a bioremediation treatment will be applied to the sediment areas to avoid any odours coming up during the suction process. The pre-treatment is followed by the installation of tubes for drainage, after which the drained sediment will be treated, concrete structures will be erected to facilitate the movement of equipment and the sediment will be deposited and transported away. The actions will finish with the demolition of installations and the transfer of equipment and residues so that the areas can be restituted to their original state. During the intervention, the water will be redirected through installations, and when the waterway is restored the ecological aspect of the river’s path will be restored. (ref 1)2016- Announcement of a new project Murcia Rio, which furthers the works. In the second phase, the plan is to include more green areas which can be useful for recreation, sport, and cultural activities.

Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities

Biodiversity restoration:

  • Rehabilitate and restore damaged or destroyed ecosystems
  • Restore species (native, endangered, or unspecified)

Main beneficiaries

  • Local government/Municipality
  • Citizens or community groups
  • Young people and children

Governance

Management set-up

  • Government-led

Type of initiating organisation

  • National government
  • Local government/municipality

Participatory approaches/ community involvement

  • Dissemination of information and education
  • Citizen monitoring and review
  • Unknown

Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project

The Murcia city government along with the Confederation of the Segura River led this initial intervention. The Confederation of the Segura is a public law entity with its own legal personality and that has autonomy to govern and administer the environmental and heritage affairs of the Segura river (ref 1).

Project implemented in response to ...

... an EU policy or strategy? Unknown
... a national policy or strategy? Yes (The plan Murcia Rio and its preliminary studies are in accordance to the National Hydrological Plan, the Spanish government level plan of the waterways and bodies of water of the country. It is also part of the article 46.5 of the Law of Waters. (ref 1) )
... a local policy or strategy? Yes (The Murcia River Plan for the reconditioning of the river along the urban area has followed this intervention, so it is not an influence but a cause (ref 3) )

Financing

Total cost

€100,000 - €500,000

Source(s) of funding

  • EU funds
  • Public national budget
  • Public local authority budget

Type of funding

  • Earmarked public budget

Non-financial contribution

No

Impacts and Monitoring

Environmental impacts

  • Environmental quality
  • Improved air quality
  • Improved soil quality
  • Water management and blue areas
  • Improved water quality
  • Green space and habitat
  • Increased green space area
  • Increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems
  • Increased conversion of degraded land or soil
  • Increased ecological connectivity across regeneration sites and scales

Economic impacts

  • Unknown

Socio-cultural impacts

  • Social justice and cohesion
  • Improved access to urban green space
  • Increased opportunities for social interaction
  • Health and wellbeing
  • Gain in activities for recreation and exercise

Type of reported impacts

Expected impacts

Presence of formal monitoring system

Unknown

Presence of indicators used in reporting

No evidence in public records

Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports

No evidence in public records

Availability of a web-based monitoring tool

No evidence in public records

References

1. Gobierno de España. (2009). Proyecto de Obras de Recuperacion Ambiental del Rio Segura en la Ciudad de Murcia, Termino Municipal de Murcia. Murcia: Gobierno de España. Available at: Source link (Accessed: 10 July 2020)
2. Gobierno de España. (2015). Plan Hidrografico de la Cuenca del Segura 2009/2015. Murcia: Gobierno de España. Available at: Source link (Accessed: 10 July 2020)
3. Europa Press. (2016). Acuerdo para materializar el proyecto Murcia Río y crear una avenida verde y de ocio familiar en la ribera del Segura. Murcia: EuropaPress. Available at: Source link (Accessed: 10 July 2020)
4. Gobierno de España (n.d.). Proyecto de recuperación ambiental del río Segura y tramo comprendido entre los Sotos de los Álamos y la Hijuela. T.M. de Molina de Segura y Alguazas (Murcia). Murcia: Gobierno de España. Available at: Source link (Accessed: 10 July 2020)
5. Garcia, Ana. (2020). Murcia Río II dotará al Segura de tres nuevas pasarelas urbanas. Murcia: La Opinion de Murcia. Available at: Source link (Accessed: 10 July 2020)
6. L.O. (2020) Así Será Murcia Río II. La Opinión de Murcia. Murcia: La Opinión de Murcia. Available at : Source link (Accessed: 10 July 2020)
7. E.P. (2018). Así será el proyecto de Murcia Río. Murcia: La Opinión de Murcia. 10th of may. Available at : Source link (Accessed: 10 July 2020)
8. Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico. (2020) Fondos europeos en la CH Segura [European funding in the CHSegura]. Murcia: La Opinión de Murcia. Available at: Source link (Accessed: 10 July 2020)
9. European Commission. (2020). European Funding for Regional Development. Belgium: European Commission. Available at: Source link (Accessed: 10 July 2020)
10. L.O. (2019), Ecologistas en Acción critica el proyecto “Murcia Río” porque parece un parque urbano. Murcia: La Opinión de Murcia. 14th of June. Available at: Source link (Accessed: 10 July 2020)