In 2020, the Parliament of Catalonia approved a Resolution that urges to discard the Aqvam project and the administration is urged in accordance with the agreement signed to develop projects compatible with environmental values.
From the Association Save Platja de Pals see as an opportunity this Resolution which has been approved by a majority of political forces and no vote against it, and we believe that despite the more than fifteen-year delay it is time to take advantage of the current political consensus..
LET'S SAVE RADIO LIBERTY, NOW
It is one of the last undeveloped sections on the seafront on the Costa Brava of large dimensions -330,612 m²- very emblematic, included within the Montgrí, Medas Islands and Baix Ter Natural Park. It is part of Natura 2000 network, which is on the list of places of community importance (SCI) and Special Protection Area for Birds (SPA), publicly owned, included entirely within the public maritime land domain, where the 1,500 m dune system has been preserved at the seafront, free of occupation, with exceptional geological, botanical, faunal and environmental importance due to having kept the facilities closed and under constant surveillance for more than 50 years.
The space is a unique transitional landscape between the forest environment set by the dunes, further inland, and the mobile dunes near the sea. Here is the most important sample of psammophilous flora (vegetation adapted to live on sandy substrates) in Catalonia. It is essential to preserve the historical, patrimonial, archaeological and natural values with a new Plan for the management of the uses of sustainable space.
El área también contiene parte del yacimiento arqueológico de la Torre Mora which is BCIN (Cultural Asset of National Interest); check here for the site file here. The geological and archaeological studies of recent years, promoted by the Cercle Català d’Història (CCH), have obtained interesting data, among which, archaeological dating. The fishing village of Pals, also called "Torre de Pals", was inhabited since the s. XIII to XVIII; a forgotten seafaring and commercial population, which was engaged in fishing and trade, as indicated by the historical documentation and studies of the CCH. The buildings of Radio Liberty also have a very important historical value in the world and heritage, which were designed by Agustí Borrel Senat in 1954, and represent an exponent of rationalist architecture, which also represented a technological ingenuity of that moment.
The fishing village of Pals occupies part of the Torre Mora and Ràdio Liberty, with an older and more remote coastline than the current one and with a physiognomy of the landscape that has varied over the centuries. The fact that the Natural Park has an archaeological and historical site is of great value by European standards and allows the promotion of activities that combine nature, culture and the unique heritage of Pals.
The habitat that stands out in the westernmost sector near Rodors and Torre Mora is the pine forest that fixes the innermost dunes, passing through more open spaces with isolated pines and steppes and buffaloes -Thymelaea hirsuta- scattered more in the center, until reaching the sector closest to the sea, where they dominate the species of the most mobile and open coastal dune systems, free of arboreal vegetation.
WHY URGENT ACTION?
The poor condition of the Radio Liberty area due to the abandonment it has suffered in recent years is alarming. Aquesta situació obliga a una primera fase d’actuació urgent per part de les administracions, making it necessary to implement surveillance and access control measures for the risk it poses to people who can access it, as well as for the environmental and heritage values to be protected.
According to the action protocol agreed between the Ministry and the Generalitat, published in the BOE no. 67, of 19 March 2007, the Generalitat should have managed and preserved these habitats and arqueological and historical values in coordination with the Ministry, guaranteeing a rational and orderly public access that is compatible with its conservation; and the Ministry of the Environment should have committed itself to making the necessary actions and investments for proper environmental treatment in order to ensure the optimal conservation of the space and its buildings.
The abandoned buildings of Ràdio Liberty and the fishing village need to be rehabilitated and preserved, which have been the object of vandalism and looting in recent years without surveillance, with the unfortunate plunder of both the most recent archaeological and industrial heritage of Radio Liberty, which stand out for telling the story of the twentieth century, and which could tell the future generations the Spanish post-civil war and the country's exit from the international embargo, the transition, the importance of this radio around the world and what the Cold War was, and in part can tell the current story.
The facilities need to be preserved and turned into a new Cold War interpretation center, and existing habitats of community interest, very rare and threatened.
We demand the maintenance of the central office building to house an interpretation center that explains the fauna and flora of the Natural Park, as well as the history of Radio Liberty and the most recent Cold War and the archaeological sites of the fishing village and the Tower. of Pals. We are in favor of promoting the study and protection of nature, geological values and the environment of Pals Beach and the Natural Park, as well as the historical and technological importance of this space during the time of the Cold War. .
The Natural Park has for the first time opened a new path for the public through the middle of the space, but this leads to the arrival of visitors who, without surveillance, can open new paths and tread on protected dune species in danger of extinction. Waste can accumulate and the risk of fires increases, especially in summer (Pals is declared high risk); an urgent plan for surveillance, access control and fire prevention is needed, with ecological forestry interventions that are compatible with the preservation of the natural values of this area, and the recovery of the two wetlands within the lands, defining delimited routes and observatories.
The project must include delimited public access routes, with observation points and beaconing of endangered habitats, which until now had been free of trampling due to historical isolation. At the same time, an educational project is needed to promote, cultural and scientific dissemination of ecological values, the fragility of this system and the historical importance of the station.
FAUNA AND BOTANY IN DANGER
We want to highlight the habitats of a mobile dune or white dune, and a coastline fixed with pines, very rare and very scarce throughout the Mediterranean basin and the European Community, in danger of extinction. For this reason they are considered Habitats of Community Interest (HIC) Priority to Council Directive 92/43 / EEC of 21 May 1992, which now needs to be protected.
Thanks to isolation, surveillance and access control these dune habitats during all these years, highlight the presence of numerous species of interest to the Natural Park, with an exceptional community of open-space Mediterranean reptiles, such as the ashy lizard -Psammodromus hispanicus edwarsianus- a small sauropsid of only 15 cm, from the family of lizards, very fast and easily buried in the sand, which maintains its best population, and possibly the only viable in the province of Girona, in the environments of sand inside Radio Liberty and also of the adjacent dunes and beaches.
The common lizard is also present, an endangered species in Catalonia and included in the Real Decreto 139/2011, of 4 February, for the development of the list of wild species in special protection regime and in the Spanish catalog of endangered species and other species included in the said list, such as the white snake -Rinechis scalaris-, the necklace snake -Natrix natrix-, the big lizard -Psammodromus algirus- or the Iberian tridactyl slip -Chalcides striatus-; in addition to other species such as the green snake or the Iberian-Provencal lizard (Podarcis liolepis = P. hispanica liolepis) or the spectacular green lizard (Lacerta sp(Lacerta sp) included in the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) red list.
In relation to the birds, given the tranquility that the area has had so far, the pine forest within the estate hosts a breeding territory forAccipiter gentilis-, in addition to the green woodpecker -Picus viridis-, the coal tit -Parus majorParus major- the feathered tickLophophanes cristatus-, or the brush -Certhia brachydactyla-. In the open spaces, you can see the cogullada -Galerida cristata-, the bee bird -Merops apiaster- and the Alauda arvensisAlauda arvensis-, among other species and outside the area of the farm next to the dune sector of the seafront, have been detected as nesting birds Kentish plover –Charadrius alexandrinus, which is an endangered species and requires extensive and well-preserved dunes and beaches.
The Stachys maritima maintains the most populated subpopulation of the entire Natural Park within Radio Liberty. It grows in sandy environments and is listed as “endangered” included in Annex I of the Real Decreto 172/2008 of the Catalog of threatened flora of Catalonia.
THE WHITE DUNE DOES NOT STOP
This is a rare habitat of white dunes or embryonic mobile dunes (predominant CORINE Code 2110), unique in Catalonia for its extension, on creixen espècies botàniques de sòls sorrencs moderadament profunds de fàcil drenatge i pendents variables, com el rave de mar –Cakile maritima-, –Medicago marina-, la campaneta de mar –Calystegia soldanella-, el card marí -Eryngium maritimum-, la lleteresa marina -Euphorbia paralias-, the Stachys maritima i el preciós lliri de mar –Pancratium maritimum-. Les dunes i zones interdunars amb vegetació natural no nitròfila constitueixen un hàbitat d’interès comunitari Prioritari, que ocupen una àrea de 16 hectàrees a Ràdio Liberty i 14 hectàrees a la resta del municipi fora de l’àrea.
També trobem dunes mòbils fixades amb borró –Ammophila arenaria– (Codi 2120), just davant la tanca de Ràdio Liberty, a l’àrea més propera al mar, amb espècies botàniques úniques, com la Elymus farctus, el card marí –Eryngium maritimum- and the Echinophora spinosa que ocupa una superfície de 1 hectàrea.
LA DUNA GRIS TAN RICA EN NUTRIENTS
Les dunes grises o dunes litorals fixes són les millor representades al front marítim de Ràdio Liberty, amb una superfície de 13 hectàrees. Aquí la mobilitat de la sorra decau i tendeix a compactar-se; reben el nom de duna gris per la important aportació de matèria orgànica al sòl que forma una prima capa húmica. Acullen comunitats de Crucianella maritima (Codi 2210), hi destaquen espècies botàniques com l’ungla de gat -Ononis natrix subsp.- i la bufalaga –Thymelaea hirsuta- , i espècies arbustives de matolls calcícoles i silicícoles com el Tamarix Ramosissima, el tomaní –Lavandula stoechas-, el romaní -Rosmarinus officinalis-, l’estepa blanca -Cistus albidus-, l’estepa borrera -Cistus salviifolius– i Ephedra distachya. També hi destaquen la varietat marina de la flor de Sant Joan –Helichrysum stoechas var. maritimum-, el calabruix –Aetheorhiza bulbosa-, Carex arenaria, o el clavell de pastor -Dianthus hyssopifolius subsp-.
LES JONQUERES PRÒPIES DEL TERRENY HUMIT
The surface aquifer is free and extends all over the plain at very shallow depths. The water table is shallow and the level of soil moisture in the coastal area is high and freshwater lagoons emerge. Apareixen aiguamolls, basses, arrossars, jonqueres i ullals a tot el litoral del municipi. Als terrenys de Ràdio Liberty, a les depressions humides entre reredunes, sorgeixen plantes i vegetació higròfila típica de zones d’aiguamolls, com el jonc boval –Scirpoides holoschoenus-, les ciperàcies, praderies de gramínies de Saccharum i Erianthus ravennae, el jonc espinós –Juncus acutus-, Linum maritimum, o la botja d’escombra salina -Dorycnium pentaphyllum subsp. gracile-. És important que els treballs de renaturalització s’enfoquin a recuperar també aquestes basses permanents, que afavoreixen la reproducció d’amfibis i la biodiversitat.
A les zones humides properes a Ràdio Liberty els Jonquers i les basses d’en Coll, s’observen multitud d’aus com la cigonya, el bernat pescaire o l’agró roig, que podrien repoblar amb zones humides permanents dins l’espai, com passava fa unes dècades amb els aiguamolls que delimitaven al nord amb la finca d’Arenals Mar, abans de la seva urbanització i a ponent, amb el camp de Golf, abans de la seva construcció.
THE COASTAL DUNES THAT ROOT PINE
Les dunes fixes amb pineda de pi pinyer –Pinus pinea- i pi marí –Pinus pinaster- (Codi Corine 2270*, HIC prioritari), i a vegades de pi blanc –Pinus halepensis-, is a very scarce habitat in Europe, with a high degree of threat, exclusive to the Mediterranean and South Atlantic coasts and with a high interest in conservation in the Iberian Peninsula, rarely common in Radio Liberty and the Rodors. In Catalonia it is only well represented precisely in the area of the Natura network of the Baix Empordà, which goes from Ràdio Liberty, Rodors and Roca Blanca to Regencós, and represents the most important geo-ecological extension in all of Catalonia. of dunes generated from the beach by their orientation and the action of the predominant winds of the north wind and the gregarious, and occupies 20% of the surface of the municipality, with an extension of 523.62 hectares, and in the area of Radio Liberty an area of 16 hectares. In the undergrowth is the black and white steppe (Cistus albidus and Cistus monspeliensis) and highlighting above all the herbaceous state with the slat -Brachypodium retusum– i l’albellatge –Hyparrhenia hirta-.
In yellow, there is a huge expanse of coastal dunes from the Holocene and sandy sediments from the Upper Holocene beach that begin in the northern part of the old course of the river Daró and extend to Regencós. The lands of Ràdio Liberty are integrated within these geological areas of great importance, unique for their extension and depth in Catalonia and the whole peninsula (source: ICC).
According to the Dictamen pericial del recurs que va presentar l’Associació Salvem la Platja de Pals contra les urbanitzacions massives dels sectors Rodors al recurs contenciós administratiu núm. 217/2008, que formen part del mateix hàbitat, l’ambientòleg Josep Ramon Aragó va destacar dins els terrenys de Ràdio Liberty i Rodors gran diversitat d’espècies, la majoria són espècies de fauna salvatge autòctona protegides a l’Annex del Decret Legislatiu 2/2008, marcades amb asterisc (*):
“Among the fauna we point out the common lizard ─Lacerta lepida * ─, and a few small mammals: hedgehogs ─Erinaceus sp. * ─, moles ─Talpa europaea─, rabbits ─Oryctolagus cuniculus─, mice ─Apodemus sylvaticus─, * ─ and certain species of bats such as the toothed ear bat ─Myotis emarginata * ─.
Destaca especialment la varietat d’ocells que s’hi poden trobar. En diverses èpoques de l’any podem observar els següents: xot —Otus scops*—, tòrtora turca —Streptopelia decaocto—, gavià argentat —Larus michahellis—, tudó —Columba palumbus—, picot verd —Picus viridis*—, mallerengues ─Parus sp.*─ tallerols —Sylvia sp.*—, gafarró —Serinus serinus*—, raspinell comú —Certhia brachydactyla*—, garsa —Pica pica—, estornell vulgar —Sturnus vulgaris—, cadernera ─Carduelis carduelis*─, pardal comú —Passer domesticus—, gavina corsa ─Larus audouinii*─, xoriguer ─Falco tinnunculus*─, esparver vulgar ─Accipiter nisus*─, i els següents a l’hivern: òliba —Tito alba*—, cargolet —Troglodytes troglodytes*—, pit roig —Eritacus rubecula*—, merla —Turdus merula—, mosquiters —Phylloscopus sp.*—, mallerenga cuallarga —Aegithalos caudatus*—, i a l’estiu: abellerol ─Merops apiaster*─, tòrtora —Streptopelia turtur—, corriols —Charadius sp.*—, cucut —Cuculus canorus*—, falciot negre —Apus apus*—, falciot pàl·lid —Apus pallidus*—, ballester —Apus melba*—, puput —Upupa epops*—, i oreneta vulgar —Hirundo rustica*— entre d’altres.
The red boleng -Alkanna tinctoria-, the malcómia -Malcolmia ramosissima-, maresia -Maresia nana-, Phleum arenarium, seneci gàl · lic -Senecio gallicus-, specimens of Stachys maritima- in danger of extinction and vulneraria -Anthyllis vulneraria-, all characteristic and of presence in the continental dunes with pine groves pine and white pine of the places Rodors ”.
In addition, we can highlight the presence of the toad -Alytes obstetricans-, the heron -Pica pica- and the common owl -Athene noctua- and in some of these places the sparrowhawk, the bald eagle, the peregrine falcon, the green snake or the common bat at night, the cave bat.
There is still a very large population of toothed ear bats -Myotis emarginata- throughout the area of Liberty radio very visible at night, during summer afternoons the black falcon, the pale and the swallow are very common. Recently we were able to observe kestrels, harpoons and sparrowhawks, ticks, in the Rodors area near the White Summer and the golf course, the owl too but it is more difficult, more nocturnal, the geneta -Genetta genetta felina-, with a skin as spectacular as a feline.
PROPOSAL FOR A NEW BOUNDARY OF THE NATURAL PARK
We call for actions to protect the species and communities that require special protection outside the boundaries of the Ràdio Liberty estate, in adjacent sectors of interest, especially those that connect with other nearby natural spaces.
Outside the area of the land we find the archaeological remains of the Torre Mora within a dune habitat with pine forests, which are currently part of a municipal green area and parking area, which should be part of the same area of management of archaeological and environmental interest of the fishing village, within the guarded environment of Ràdio Liberty.
In the northern part of the Racó, in the “Les Dunes” apartments, there is a beacon right where the Natural Park adjacent to Ràdio Liberty ends. To the south are two globules protected by beacons, due to the presence of the endangered plant in danger of extinction.Stachys maritima, which is the best town we have in the bay of Pals and the whole peninsula, very interesting, we propose that it is also an area to be protected next to Radio Liberty, and we ask that it be included in the Natural Park, as well as the dunes of the beach in the municipality of Begur.
Proposem que es gestioni de forma més sostenible la neteja de la platja al municipi de Pals, evitant l’ús del tractor a les zones on hi hagi una disminució de la sorra i amb recollida manual de residus i plàstics.
We also require that the Jonquers, Rodors, Roca Blanca and Pals golf sectors, which are part of the same habitats and landscape units, be protected from new developments and be included in the Natural Park.
Article creation date: 3/8/2020. Reviewed on 8/7/2022.
CLAIM AN URGENT PROTECTION OF RADIO LIBERTY GROUND
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