• A sustainability project whose objective is to conserve the biodiversity and the natural and historical-cultural heritage of the area
• A riverside wooded area is being created, access to the area has been improved, walking trails have been marked out and civil war defensive structures have been cleaned up and catalogued.

Red Eléctrica de España is carrying out a sustainability project in the natural reserve of la Vallesa, located in the Turia Natural Park (Valencia), with a total investment of 87,000 euros. The project, which began in 2017 and will conclude in 2019, includes a set of measures regarding biodiversity conservation and the enhancement of the natural spaces and historical heritage of this enclave located near the city of Valencia.

The objective of the project, which has had the collaboration and monitoring of the management team of the natural park, is to analyse the value generated by these measures and standardise a reference model to be implemented in protected natural areas in which the Company may need to work or its facilities are to be located.

Noteworthy, for its importance and visibility, is the project to carry out a historical and archaeological study in the zone known as the Vallesa de Mandor in which there are several areas with defensive structures dating back to the civil war, such as a network of trenches, casemates, bunkers and machine gun nests. The study, completed in 2017, has catalogued, assessed and topographically surveyed approximately 2,700 metres of trenches and 63 associated elements. As the identified structures were largely covered by forest and plants, the vegetation existing within the trenches was removed and a 10-metre strip around them has been cleared.

With regard to the enhancement of the natural spaces, given that la Vallesa is located in an area with a high population density and consequently with some deteriorated areas, and with the aim of recovering its natural structure, improvements have been made in the closing off of the natural reserve, informative posters have been installed to avoid access through places that are inadequate, the deteriorated fencing has been repaired and an access point has been created to use in the case of emergencies or if the area needs to be evacuated.

With regard to biodiversity conservation, in collaboration with the LIMNE Foundation, with whom an agreement was signed in 2017, 7,000 m² of reedbed have been removed, creating a riverside wooded area with the capacity to absorb atmospheric CO₂, improve water quality and act as a safe-haven for various species of fauna.

Finally, to showcase the heritage and ecological values ​​of the natural reserve without causing them harm, as well as to control the number of visitors, an interpretive tour has been set up so that public use, as well as that of an educational nature, is concentrated on this walking tour and therefore reduce the pressure on the rest of the enclave. Along the route, which has been designed jointly designed with the management of the Turia Natural Park, several informative posters have been placed summarising the Park's most relevant information regarding the trenches, the flora and also data on the insect-eating birds which play a fundamental role in the ecosystems and for which Red Eléctrica has installed 80 nesting boxes.

Other measures in la Vallesa

The Turia Natural Park has a visitor centre in which Red Eléctrica will have a permanent space for disseminating its mission, its sustainability plan and the project it has carried out in la Vallesa.

On the other hand, Red Eléctrica has chosen this enclave for the installation of the PRODINT project, a pilot programme for an early-warning system for the detection of forest fires, including the development of fire-sensor devices, specially designed to be installed on the Company’s electricity towers, and an early-warning information system which will be installed in a Company-run control centre and that will receive the warning alarms. This measure will be coordinated with the fire detection project being developed by the Paterna City Council.

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