Montgó Phoenix Project

This is a proposal put forward by Members of the PUXS association (Para Una Xàbia Sostenible), in response to the aftermath of the extensive fire in the Montgo Natural Park in September 2014

Project proposal - from tragedy springs opportunity: The Montgó Phoenix project

The burning of over 400 hectares of the Montgó Natural Park was in some ways a tragedy. But fire is a natural process in Mediterranean ecosystems.

The Montgó Natural Park should be allowed to regenerate naturally, phoenix-like, from its ashes, and this process can be exploited as an opportunity for tourism, public education about the environment and even add to the knowledge base about the park.

We propose a project to encourage people to visit the park, to take photos of the regenerating landscape, to look for, photograph and identify various plants, birds, insects and animals they see; to date and locate these sightings and photos with GPS, and to send the notes and photos, or links to the photos to a web resource especially set up for this purpose.

Information will be displayed publicly on the web, with a regeneration timeline, and feedback provided by biologists who work in the park.

In this way, the fire can be viewed, not as a complete disaster, but as a firebird - a symbol of hope and renewal.

The Association PUXS (Para Una Xàbia Sostenible) and interested parties will be meeting in October 2014 to develop this idea into a viable project so that it can be put forward to the relevant authorities and experts for consideration.

See: Wild fires for background information on wildfires in the Mediterranean, and guidelines for fire prevention in the Comunidad Valenciana.

The gallery of photos below shows plants regenerating after the fire of the Foradá ridge (Val de Alcalá and Val de Gallinera) in September 2009, seven weeks after a devastating fire. Daphne, Dwarf Palms, Lathyrus, Pitch trefoil a small lily are already sprouting and there was even a sighting of an Eagle Owl (Buho real)

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