The deputy delegate of the Government in A Coruña, María Rivas, traveled today to the city of Valdoviño to visit, together with the mayor, Alberto González, the lagoon of the Frouxeira on the occasion of the commemoration of the World Wetlands Day.
The subdelegate noted the importance of “protecting and maintaining our wetlands like the Frouxeira Lagoon, as it is an essential part of our natural heritage” and “provides necessary benefits and services for human well-being, as well as having great natural value and biological diversity.”
María Rivas highlighted the great diversity of species that benefit from the conservation of the area, especially birds, which makes the lagoon one of the most important areas of the region, and of the province, by the presence of natural and semi-natural habitats and by the significant number of species of fauna and flora protected. In this regard, he also wanted to highlight that wetlands are very fragile and sensitive ecosystems, which barely occupy 6% of the land surface, and along with this Frouxeira lagoon, the province of A Coruña also has other wetlands of great importance and value such as the complex of the beaches, dunes and Corrubedo lagoon.
A Frouxeira is a resting place for many birds during the migratory steps of spring and autumn, and where one of the most important breeding areas of Anas platyrhynchos and one of the few colonies of Anas strepera de Galicia are located. With around 580 hectares of surface and a humid area of the most important of the province.
María Rivas recalled the need to protect these areas of high ecological interest, as stated in the ‘Strategic Wetlands Plan 2022-2030’, implemented by the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge with the aim of promoting recovery and reversing the impact of degradation on wetlands throughout the country.
The deputy delegate indicated that Demarcation of Coasts of the State in collaboration with the City of Valdoviño, have been working together for years to plan the various investments undertaken in the management of the lagoon. All of them, actions aimed at making the uses of the same compatible, assured that the necessary protection of the Frouxeira can coexist with the use and tourist enjoyment by the neighborhood and the people who visit it.
The Frouxeira Lagoon is covered by the Ramsar Convention which is an intergovernmental environmental treaty established by UNESCO, therefore it is a wetland area designated as of international importance.
Ramsar areas are important because they are spaces where a lot of biodiversity is concentrated, and because they are decisive in the functioning of ecosystems. The agreement obliges the administrations to commit themselves and take measures to preserve them; measures ranging from the adoption of management plans, to the establishment of better urban and agricultural zoning, the promotion of scientific research, among other actions, and in which the involvement and coordination of the government and the city council is maximum.
In addition, this space brings together a series of declarations that recognize its natural value, among which are Special Protection Area for Birds (SPA), Special Protection Area for Natural Values (SPA), Protected Wetland and Special Conservation Area (SCE).
In this sense, since its declaration as a Ramsar area, Demarcaciones de Costas del Estado and the City of Valdoviño, worked together for the rehabilitation of the promenade and its maintenance, as well as for the removal of the elements and constructions that damaged and degraded the ecosystems.
The interventions carried out in the Frouxeira by Demarcación de Costas since 1996, range from the improvement of the environment of the seafront; through the restoration of the dunar environment and the provision of services on the beaches of Frouxeira, Mevas, Botes and Vilarrube; the recovery and improvement of accessibility; the environmental conditioning of the beach or the installation of information panels and signage.
In addition, the city is also supporting the knowledge of the importance of this wetland, and awareness of the needs to protect it through initiatives such as the classroom of nature installed at the Child Care Point.
The deputy delegate of the Government in A Coruña, said that “on this World Wetlands Day, the objective is to value places such as the Frouxeira Lagoon, a space of great ornithological and ecological importance of great beauty, one of our natural jewels, which among all of us we must take care to remain a home for all the species that make it and a place of enjoyment for neighbors and for the people who visit it”.
In this sense, he wanted to thank the constant and permanent collaboration with the city of Valdoviño and the effort they make to protect this ecosystem.