Alicante is advancing the initiative ‘Climate Bridges: Biodiversity Islands Puerto-City’ with the aim of developing projects focused on climate change adaptation and enhancing biodiversity through green spaces in the port area. The Alicante City Council and the Port Authority will jointly fund this initiative, which is valued at half a million euros.
The city council has agreed in an extraordinary government meeting to request funding from the Ministry of Ecological Transition to access European Regional Development Funds (ERDF), which could cover up to 60% of its contribution. This funding is part of a call for aid directed at the renaturalisation and resilience of Spanish cities for the year 2026.
The Alicante City Council commits to presenting the project, covering half of its cost, equivalent to €250,000. Of this amount, it expects to receive a grant of €150,000 from European funds (60%), while the remaining €100,000 (40%) will come from municipal funds.
The planned actions aim to achieve several objectives, including: increasing the presence of functional green spaces in urban and peri-urban areas, enhancing ecological connectivity between the city and the port environment, improving the environmental and landscape conditions of the areas involved, contributing to climate change adaptation through nature-based solutions, increasing the climate regulation capacity of the intervened spaces, promoting environmental awareness and citizen participation in renaturalisation efforts, and generating tools for monitoring and evaluating the environmental and social impacts of the project.
Luis Morata, the councillor for Strategic Plans and European Projects, highlighted that “the collaboration between the Alicante City Council and the Port Authority represents a model of institutional cooperation that allows for the coordination of resources and capabilities to achieve common environmental objectives, creating synergies that enhance the positive impact of the planned actions.”
He added that “the execution of the project, which will involve the creation of bioclimatic spaces with shade and vegetation, will provide lasting environmental, social, and landscape benefits, promoting biodiversity conservation, improving public spaces, climate adaptation, and citizen awareness. Additionally, it will help reinforce Alicante’s image as a city committed to sustainability and the implementation of innovative solutions to address current environmental challenges.”
A working team has been established for the preparation and development of the project, consisting of technicians from the Port Authority and the Urban Planning Department, coordinated by the European Projects Department of the Strategic Plans and European Projects Service.
