La Roza rest area has new furniture: an example of public participation in the definition of its uses

The LIFE Ebro Resilience P1 Project adds a new action with the completion of the conditioning works in the plot located outside the Public Hydraulic Domain, which was released for public use during the process of making the land available for the morphological adaptation of the meander of La Roza, in Alfaro (La Rioja). This space, which has been transformed with the active collaboration of the public, is now ready to be enjoyed.

Thanks to a participatory and deliberative process, the uses of this 2,000 square meter plot were defined with input from the co-creation groups (which bring together technicians and stakeholders throughout the project) and the community at large. The agreed proposals were evaluated and had to be compatible with the management of the protected area as Red Natura 2000 de los Sotos de Alfaro.

The plot has been planted with white poplar and elm trees resistant to graphiosis. a bicycle parking area and stone furniture in the rest area for the cycling route. The works will soon be closed with the installation of an information panel on agriculture in the area and other information of interest, which will enrich visitors’ knowledge of the history and biodiversity of the area.

Public participation has been fundamental to the success of this project, and the LIFE Ebro Resilience P1 team thanks all those who have contributed their ideas and time. This reclaimed space not only benefits the environment, but also provides a place for the local community and visitors to meet and enjoy.

La Roza

The intervention is part of the “combined section of actions”, a series of mitigation measures that together have a general benefit and that includes the project planned in the meander of El Señorío, in Castejón, Navarra, and the restoration action in the Soto de Alfaro.

Specifically, with the morphological adaptation of the meander of La Roza, 22 hectares of river plain have been recovered and integrated as a protected area in the Natura 2000 Network, with the removal of 1,343 meters of defensive dykes that constrained the river and the construction of a smaller defense (899 meters) and away from the riverbed.343 meters of defensive dikes that constricted the river and the construction of a smaller defense (899 meters) and away from the riverbed, returning this space to the river and the planting of more than 4,000 poplars, poplars and ash trees to facilitate the recovery of the riverside forest that some decades ago occupied these lands.