Management and conservation
The Torrent de la Cabana is a river area of great natural interest, due to the habitats and species found there. It is also a very important space for the region’s residents, who live in the towns of Campdevànol, Les Lloses and Gombrén, and have close ties to the stream.
The pools that form naturally along the stream are very appealing to visitors, who find it a very beautiful place for enjoying nature in peace.
The large influx of visitors that this space has received for more than 10 years has endangered the conservation of the area. In 2014, the town council and local institutions came together to actively manage this space to enable conservation of the area at the same time as its use by the public.
The three cornerstones for protecting the Torrent de la Cabana
Conservation
Protecting fauna and flora
The Estiula stream, or the Torrent de la Cabana, is a very valuable river area. It is near the boundaries of protected natural upland areas, including the Rasos de Tubau, the Serra de Montgrony and the Serralada de Cavallera mountains. It contains flora and fauna which are protected in Catalonia and in Spain, which need a clean and quiet space to live, feed and reproduce.
Its rivers, ponds or lakes are highly endangered habitats: 35% of the area’s wetlands have been lost in the last 55 years. We must all preserve these spaces, which are vital for the animals that come to drink, reproduce or seek refuge there.
Management
Information and limits on access
The Campdevànol City Council took over the active management of the Torrent de la Cabana area in 2014. Based on the synergies between the council, environmental institutions and residents’ platforms in the region and the residents of Campdevànol, a strategy was set out to regulate access to the areas, organise how it is used, and mitigate the effects of overcrowding.
Some of the measures that have been applied since then are restrictions on motor vehicle access, the creation of a body of environmental agents, the monitoring service (the Mossos d’Esquadra police force, rural guards and local police), and Campdevànol’s cleaning and civil protection brigade. Signage to mark the route has also been installed, and a leisure area and parking spaces have been created.
Active management of overcrowded spaces must be ongoing and dynamic to ensure that the measures taken are effective in preserving the space at all times.
Public participation
Residents, institutions and government
In 2014, Campdevànol town council invited the citizens of Campdevànol, the owners of the Torrent de la Cabana pools, the “Save the Torrent de la Cabana” residents’ association, the environmental institutions in the region including the Alt Ter Environmental Education Centre, to a meeting to present a management strategy – proposed by the tourism and environmental education company Educa – and to listen to the residents’ opinions and proposals.
That was the starting point in a participatory process that involved further meetings, interviews and surveys with the residents and owners affected, and concluded by implementing measures to regulate access to the river area and how it is used.
