The plenary session of Calpe Town Council has unanimously agreed to ask the Regional Ministry of the Environment to declare a forestry health emergency due to the extreme situation being experienced by Aleppo pine trees as a result of the long drought that Spain is suffering.
As explained by the councillor for the Environment, Pere Moll, the prolonged drought in turn produces the proliferation of pests and in this sense, he pointed out that many pine trees are being affected by a parasite called Pine Wood Nematode which is spread to other pine trees by a native beetle. The wood nematode sucks the sap from the tree and causes it to wither and dry out.
‘This is a real problem and because of the impotence that this situation causes me, we are presenting this proposal so that the Regional Ministry declares the pine drought as a forest health emergency in the affected areas of the Valencian Community and mobilizes the necessary resources to deal with this critical situation,” he said, pointing out that Calpe is the first municipal corporation to request this from the Generalitat (Valencian regional government).
Calpe Town Council is also requesting an extraordinary budget allocation to finance a comprehensive contingency plan that includes measures for prevention, early detection, control and recovery of the affected ecosystems. It also asks the Regional Ministry to implement an Urgent Action Plan, which includes early detection and monitoring of the disease, as well as control of the vector (the beetle that spreads the disease), the elimination of the sources of infection and the elimination of diseased forest stands and their replacement by other native species, as well as the promotion of research into the disease and a plan to raise public awareness.
Beach regeneration
On the other hand, the plenary session of Calpe Town Council has also unanimously approved a request to the provincial Coastal Service for the regeneration of the municipality's beaches, especially those of Arenal-Bol and La Fossa. The proposal argues that these beaches have lost sand, specifically in the area of the Fossa beach closest to the Penyal d'Ifac and several areas of the Arenal beach such as in Borumbot or in front of the Hotel SolyMar.
According to a study carried out by the Institut d'Ecologia Litoral (IEL), this situation is due to the coastal dynamics of Calpe, i.e. the effect of sea currents. For this reason, Costas is requested to carry out a natural regeneration of these beaches, in a sustainable way and in accordance with the indications established in the study.
In Calpe, the only time the beach was regenerated was in the early 1990s when work was carried out to restore the Arenal - Bol beach.
Footbaths
Another of the issues dealt with in the plenary session was that of the footbaths on the beaches. In this regard, following the numerous problems in the operation of this infrastructure which have occurred this summer and which have led to many complaints from beach users, it has been agreed to request Turisme Comunitat Valenciana to delegate powers for the operation of the system of collection, pumping and distribution of water for footbaths on the beaches of Arenal-Bol and La Fossa. The aim of direct management is to improve the efficiency of the service.
This point was approved by the government team (Somos Calpe, socialist municipal group and Compromís) and Defend Calpe, with the PP voting against.
Modification of the Transport project
The plenary also gave initial approval to the modification of the Calpe public transport service project. Some improvements have been introduced after having been sent to the different administrations and operators involved, such as the use of more sustainable buses, which will involve an increase in the fee paid by the Town Council to make the service viable for the concessionaire, greater coverage to schools and the establishment of a violet point together with the Local Police checkpoint, a service on demand and which will allow women to take the bus more safely.
This is an initiative aimed at improving urban bus transport and will have three lines. The project will now undergo a new period of public information and if no new allegations are received, it will be definitively approved, which will allow it to go out to tender.
This point was approved by the government team and Defend Calpe with the abstention of the PP.