This initiative led by the Federation of Municipalities of the Region of Murcia, in which the town councils of Alcantarilla, Lorquí, Molina de Segura and Reggio Emilia participate, has achieved, through the CSR of local companies, almost 200,000 euros in donations and the involvement of a total of 28 companies.
LIFE City AdaP3, the climate change adaptation project is in its last year and the impact on the participating municipalities is already a success.
Today, the Federation of Municipalities, coordinator of the project funded by the European Union, held an event to recognise the new companies that have joined the project. One of the keys to this initiative is the public-private collaboration between local industry and local councils, which has made it possible to carry out pilot actions to adapt these municipalities to the environmental reality.
For this reason, a total of nine companies have been honoured, of the 28 that City AdaP3 already has, with the presence of the mayors, Joaquín Buendía, Alcantarilla, Joaquín Hernández, Lorquí and José Ángel Alfonso de Molina de Segura, who were accompanied by the president of the Federation of Municipalities and also mayor of Úlea, Víctor Manuel López Abenza, the head of the CSR Chair of the University of Murcia, Longinos Marin and the co-founder of Eurovértice Consultores, Raquel Galarza.
The companies belong to different sectors based in these participating municipalities. From Alcantarilla, AZUD and OLON Derivados Químicos, from Molina, AUXILIAR CONSERVERA and SOLTEC, and from Lorquí CEICO, IMACAPI, VIRIATO SEGURIDAD, ITEM CONSULTING, and QUADRUM ARQUITECTURA.
Pilot actions
The works of the pilot actions in each of the participating municipalities ended a few months ago, so the first impact data are already known, being positive, so it has been demonstrated that the works are generating local benefits for the environment and for the population.
In Molina, reforestation with indigenous species and the establishment of sustainable urban drainage systems in the Nelson Mandela Park have been carried out.
In Reggio Emilia, 4 public parks have been reforested and adapted to avoid heat islands.
In Alcantarilla, a pedestrian and cycle walkway has been built with a high drainage capacity in the event of rain, making it more resilient. This footbridge aims to link the Industrial Estate with the town centre to reduce car use. The Town Council aims to extend this lane with future projects.
In Lorquí, the cave house "Las Trillizas" has been rehabilitated and the Cuesta del Catecismo, and the Cabezo de la Ermita viewpoint and its accesses have been conditioned to prevent erosion. These works have reduced the extreme temperatures.
The commitments of the local administration to the environment
The president of the Federation of Municipalities, as well as the mayors of the three municipalities, spoke of the firm commitment to the environment from the local administration. The local councils are working on actions to mitigate the effects of climate change every day, and this is now possible thanks to European funding.
Víctor Manuel López commented that, "LIFE City AdaP3 has marked a milestone, the before and after of the synergy between public and private, and this has been achieved by each of the participants, as this project is not only a statement in favour of climate and sustainability, it is a reflection of the commitment of the municipalities to advance and offer citizens new ways to adapt to climate change in the urban environment".