Project Overview
The demosite focuses on the 325 km middle course of the Ebro River, implementing ecohydrological measures for flood resilience and ecological restoration. | Constructed wetlands are used as specific measures for feeding and breeding endangered species like the European mink, enhancing local biodiversity. | The site enhances moderation of extreme events (flood control), waste-water treatment, and habitats for species. These regulating and supporting services are maintained through river and floodplain restoration.
Ecosystem Services
Provisioning
- Provisioning Services are ecosystem services that describe the material or energy outputs from ecosystems. They include food, water and other resources.
Regulating
- Regulating Services are the services that ecosystems provide by acting as regulators eg. regulating the quality of air and soil or by providing flood and disease control.
- Waste-water treatment: Ecosystems such as wetlands filter both human and animal waste and act as a natural buffer to the surrounding environment. Through the biological activity of microorganisms in the soil, most waste is broken down. Thereby pathogens (disease causing microbes) are eliminated, and the level of nutrients and pollution is reduced.
- Erosion prevention and maintenance of soil fertility: Soil erosion is a key factor in the process of land degradation and desertification. Vegetation cover provides a vital regulating service by preventing soil erosion. Soil fertility is essential for plant growth and agriculture and well functioning ecosystems supply the soil with nutrients required to support plant growth.
Habitat / Supporting
- Ecosystem services "that are necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services". These include services such as nutrient recycling, primary production and soil formation.
- Habitats for species: Habitats provide everything that an individual plant or animal needs to survive: food; water; and shelter. Each ecosystem provides different habitats that can be essential for a species’ lifecycle. Migratory species including birds, fish, mammals and insects all depend upon different ecosystems during their movements.
Cultural
- Cultural Services corresponds nonmaterial benefits people obtain from ecosystems through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, reflection, recreation, and aesthetic experiences.
Major Issues
—
No issues provided.
EH Engineering Solutions
Flood areas and lateral flow buffer zones.
Flood areas and lateral flow buffer zones.
Construction of wetlands for feeding and breeding
Construction of wetlands for feeding and breeding the European mink (Mustela lutreola). Recovering the lost river branches of the Ebro River for freshwater clam habitats (Margaritifera auricularia, Potomida littoralis, Unio mancus and Anodonta anatina).
Redesigning the levee system and removing the
Redesigning the levee system and removing the inefficient ones. Adapting vulnerable elements to flooding. Prioritising flood protection in urban areas.
Project Activities
-
Restoring floodplains and recovering lost river branches to increase river space
-
Redesigning the levee system and building high-water channels for improved flood management
-
Constructing wetlands and specific habitats for endangered species like the European mink
-
Implementing land use planning and creating controlled flood areas on agricultural land
-
Conducting public participation processes and capacity-building training for the local population
Expected Outcomes
Reduce flood damage and accelerate recovery for communities and farmland | Improve the ecological status of water and riparian habitats and increase biodiversity | Enhance the resilience of the social-ecological system to climate change and flooding | Achieve coexistence between economic activities and a healthy, dynamic river system | Foster public awareness and capacity for participatory river management