Cieza City Council, through its Department of European Projects, recently participated in the URBACT BiodiverCity project partner meeting held in the Irish city of Limerick, Ireland. This meeting focused on the partner's experience in developing its green and blue infrastructure strategy.
Limerick is a pioneering city in its work to interconnect natural elements and harness ecosystem services. Its evidence base and integrated green, blue, and biodiversity infrastructure planning are also notable.
During the working meeting, which included talks with experts and visits to key experiences carried out by the host partner, the new management models the city is implementing in its natural spaces and which integrate the city's green and blue belts were presented, as an example of how this strategic approach was taking shape in the city.
It highlights the new grassland management systems that are resulting in significant cost savings and improved aesthetic, landscape, and biodiversity quality, which are increasingly supported and demanded by citizens.
Group workshops
Green infrastructure, linked to tree, shrub, and herbaceous formations, and the blue water of rivers, lakes, and lagoons, helps preserve and increase biodiversity, improve the area's environmental quality, and beautify the landscape. During my stay in Limerick, which received the Green Leaf Award in 2020, Europe's most prestigious environmental prize, I was able to explore and learn from various initiatives and strategies implemented in recent years that led to this award.
Furthermore, during these URBACT network partner meetings, expert-led group workshops are held to encourage participants to implement their biodiversity action plans. In this case, initial tasks for each pilot action, or "testing action," are also carried out. These tasks are then agreed upon by local URBACT citizen groups and associations. One of the objectives of these networks is to involve citizens in the main challenges facing the city.
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