The Eastern Green Corridor that was promoted by the Community of Madrid has the approval and support of the Government of Spain, that of the municipalities involved, that of the neighbors, both individuals and companies, and that of several environmental and ecological associations.
On Wednesday, September 25, representatives of the neighborhood associations of several localities, together with the FRAVM, and some of the main conservation organizations at the national level, including SEO/BirdLife, WWF and Ecologistas en Acción, met in Coslada to analyze the proposal promoted by the civil society of a Green Corridor in the East of Madrid.
This corridor seeks to unite the Regional Park around the axes of the lower courses of the Manzanares and Jarama rivers, colloquially known as the Southeast Regional Park, with the Ambroz Lagoons and their surroundings. A project inspired by the new Regulation on Nature Restorationrecently approved by the Council of the European Union.
Its route would cross the municipalities of San Fernando de Henares, Coslada and Madrid. For this reason, on Friday, September 27, representatives of neighborhood associations and conservation organizations met with technicians from environment and urban planning of the three locations. At this work table the project was presented to the technicians and work also began on a joint work protocol with which to take the necessary steps to allow the project to continue moving forward.
Urban corridors for biodiversity in Madrid
One of the The main problems that species encounter are infrastructure.which often become an insurmountable barrier for many of them, dying when trying to cross them, as in the case of roads. Which, little by little, reduces their populations until they finally disappear from a certain area. Thus, these and other impacts generated by humans, added up over time, are causing the sixth mass extinction of species, the first caused by one of them, humans, and at a speed never seen before on Earth.
Green or ecological corridors, such as the one proposed the east of Madrid initiative represents a solutionn, at least in part for this problem, since it reconnects the populations of many species that were isolated in recent decades and that still have time to save.
Through this corridor would connect the Regional Park, at its farthest end to the city of Madrid; the Cerros de San Fernando and the Wetland Park in its central section; and the Lagunas de Ambroz and its entire surroundings already within the city of Madrid.
Insect species as emblematic as the wasp beetle (Neoplagionotusmarcae), an Iberian endemism of the regional park, the Saga pedo, in danger of extinction in the Community of Madrid, and the spider (Zelotes pediculatus), the first record in the Iberian Peninsula , both in the valuable environment of the Ambroz Lagoonsthey would finally have reestablished a path through which to reinforce their populations, thereby ensuring their survival.
These would be just a small example of a particular taxonomic group, which could extend to others such as amphibians, reptiles, mammals or birds, as stated in the Ambroz Lagoons Biodiversity Report 2020-22.
But the project, in addition, It is of great social importancesince it offers a space through which to interconnect, in an uninterrupted manner both on foot and by bicycle, San Fernando and Coslada, with the neighborhoods of Cañaveral and Cerro, in the district of Vicálvaro, at the same time as with the capital district of San Blas-Canillejas.
This new way of communication, in this way, would allow the people of these neighborhoods to have a meeting placewhere we can all enjoy the closest nature together. The impact this would have on the physical and mental health of many people would be enormous. An effect that would be increased by the improvement that this green corridor would exert on the air quality in the surrounding population centers, which is currently quite poor.
This is a unique opportunity for all parties involved to work in a coordinated and consensual manner so that this green corridor is an example not only for our country but to become a reference at a European and global level.