Urban Klima 2050 includes three Nature-Based Solutions projects among 20 success stories presented by the Basque Government

01/10/2024

Ihobe has presented a publication with 20 new success stories in the application of Nature-Based Solutions in response to the dual crisis of climate and biodiversity loss.  

Within the LIFE IP Urban Klima 2050 project, actions have been carried out in the Jundiz Park (Vitoria-Gasteiz) with the creation of a green corridor; in Oberan mountain (Donostia/San Sebastián) with reforestation with autochthonous species; and in Tonpoi (Bermeo) with the recovery of the coastal natural space.

The Public Environmental Management Company, Ihobe, has presented "Nature-based solutions in the Basque Country: 20 success stories to adapt to climate change", at a conference held in Bilbao in which the Basque Government’s Director of Natural Heritage and Climate Chang, Adolfo Uriarte, recalled the "firm commitment over the past 15 years to these solutions that help to manage sustainably and restore ecosystems", while providing benefits for human well-being and biodiversity. In the 20 cases described above, nearly 54,000 trees, shrubs and aromatic plants have been planted, and an area of more than 490,000 m2 has been renaturalised, including school playgrounds, squares, car parks, industrial areas, viaduct underpasses and roads. Around 35 hectares of forest plantations, floodplains and coastal shorelines have also been renaturalised.

Among the actions deployed by the Basque Government, Uriarte highlighted the LIFE IP Urban Klima 2050 project ‘as a mainly collaborative, transformative project that aims to promote the energy-climate transition for the resilience of the Basque territory’.

The publication presented this past Thursday includes three actions developed within the framework of Urban Klima 2050 and covering the three historical territories. In Araba, the CEA, the Environmental Studies Centre of the Vitoria-Gasteiz City Council, has created a green corridor for soil and landscape restoration around the Jundiz industrial estate.

Juan Viela, a CEA technician, participated in the session to present this success story. In his speech, Viela explained the work carried out in five phases that have allowed ‘the recovery of an area subject to rapid industrial growth and pressures derived from the road infrastructures in the area, and with a high degree of air and soil pollution’. As he explained, the Nature-Based Solutions applied, such as ‘organic amendments, agroforestry systems, or the installation of temporary ponds to collect rainwater and green filters’, have generated benefits such as ‘the reduction of noise, the recovery of degraded soils or the increase in biodiversity’.

The publication also includes the reforestation work with autochthonous species on Mount Oberan -located in an enclave of the Aiako Harria Natural Park (Gipuzkoa)- carried out by the Donostia/San Sebastián City Council. And thirdly, the recovery of the coastal natural space with climatic criteria in the Tonpoi cliffs in Bermeo.

Other practical experiences

In addition to the solutions proposed in projects developed in Barcelona, Milan and Glasgow, six practical cases in the Basque Country were presented during the conference: in the three capitals of the historical territories and in the municipalities of Oñati, Sestao and Ea.

Transport infrastructures are an area with great potential for renaturalisation that contribute to the habitability of cities. The conversion of 6,000 m2 of road into a green corridor in Calle Maria Diaz de Haro in Bilbao stands out. Also in the Biscayan capital, and within the framework of Urban Klima 2050, progress is being made in the urban development of Punta Zorrotza, incorporating the perspective of climate change. Work is being carried out on the specific modification of the General Urban Development Plan (PGOU) for this area of the city, in which the criteria for adaptation to climate change and the implementation of Nature Based Solutions will play a fundamental role.

On the other hand, the renaturalisation of the Oñati school is an example of the comprehensive rehabilitation of a building using NBS, with its green roof, dry toilets inside and wooden façade. The project includes other NBS in the exterior, such as the phyto-purification system for grey water and the permeable paving of the school playground.

In the case of Ea, a reversible car park of more than 5,000 m2 has been created on the grounds of the former Urtubiaga factory. The car park has been built with permeable paving, drainage ditches and a phyto-purification system that favours the infiltration of the runoff once it has been purified.

Other projects documented in the guide in the rural areas of the territory include phyto-purification systems for domestic wastewater as a feasible, efficient and economic solution in areas with a dispersed population that are not reached by sanitation. Three municipalities have used this type of solution: Oñati, Ibarrangelu and Etxebarri, with a total surface area of 159 m2 of installation to supply a population equivalent of 78 inhabitants.

The guide also includes three reforestation projects with autochthonous species on 30.4 hectares between the municipalities of Bakio, Orendain and Donostia. Finally, on the coast, the recovery of 1.4 hectares of natural coastal space on the cliffs of Tonpoi, in Bermeo, has been documented.

Deployment and results of NBS in the Basque Country

The Basque Government has been firmly committed to the deployment of NBS for more than 15 years, through a regulatory and planning framework that fosters the implementation of these solutions in the territory.

As an example of this, the promotion of transformative and collaborative projects such as LIFE IP Urban Klima 2050, approved in 2019, which implements 40 actions with NBS in different municipalities of the Basque Country, and the Horizon Europe programme’s Regions4Climate project, which will recover wetland in the Txingudi estuary belonging to the Natura 2000 Network, stand out.