FEDERACION ESPAÑOLA DE MUNICIPIOS Y PROVINCIAS

CONAMA Awards for Tineo and Umbria


The municipalities of Umbria (Ávila) and Tineo (Asturias) took the two first prizes awarded to municipalities CONAMA small and medium size that have distinguished themselves by their work towards sustainability. The award ceremony took place in the course of the 4 th Meeting of Local Cities for Sustainability takes place under the National Environmental Congress.


Alongside these municipalities have made a special mention for their project the municipalities of Tube-Sodeto Alberuela (Huesca), La Pola de Gordon (León), Trabanca (Salamanca), Medina del Campo (Valladolid), Elgoibar (Guipúzcoa) Orgiva (Granada).

The project of Umbria, "Management and sustainable smallholding concentrated, has been able to agree to more than 500 owners of some 4,000 small fields for joint management of these farms. This initiative aims on the one hand, reduce fire hazards on land largely in disuse, and secondly, improving biodiversity, flora and fauna. The management of this territory, with the support of the City, allows, in addition to the particular use of resources by their owners, improve the overall utilization of resources, the recovery of traditional cultures or the establishment of new ones.

In the case of Tineo, is a reclamation project of a lagoon, known as The Sandman, a space of about one hectare lake surface in the seventies was used as a sand quarry. The abandonment of this activity led to the area gradually became a landfill with frequent fires brought about by illegal dumping. In 2003 the City Council of Tineo and regional government began recovery efforts in order to create an intensive fishing preserve for public use. The municipality signed an agreement with the Fishermen's Association, that is responsible for the management of the site since its launch in 2006. The initiative is innovative because it is the only example in the Principality of Asturias in which a local entity and a non-profit organizations join forces to manage an area of recreational fishing. About 15,000 people a year visit this fishing center, with an average of 6,000 permits per season. Economic management is self-sufficient and allows the creation of two jobs full time.