The Almargem and other environmental organizations in our country and Spain intend to create a new international natural park.
The estuary of the Guadiana River is considered one of the areas ideas for creating a new international natural park. This project results from cross-border sharing of several protected areas on both banks of the river shared by Portugal and Spain. A proposal that the movements ecologists and naturalists on both sides of the border have been developing together for the creation of the International Natural Park of the Lower / Bajo Guadiana. A project that meets the need in these protected areas to provide an integrated management that allows the preservation of this important natural and cultural heritage and defends the growing threats to these areas, in particular, a growing and unsustainable urbanization, pollution and large hydraulic infrastructure.
"The Portuguese proposal for Nature 2000 provides an area of 39,527 hectares covering the mouth of the Ribera de bunk up few kilometers below the Alqueva dam, as well as its tributaries doVascão and Ribeira de Oeiras. In Mértola includes part of the Natural Park of Guadiana Valley. With a maximum altitude of 370 m, a space that consists of cliffs and rocky slopes, watercourses with irregular and torrential flow.
In the southern marshes and creeks, the limits of the Site even depart from the fluvial axis over 7km, although in general are located within 3 or 4 kms. In the Alentejo, the width of this natural space is smaller, with exceptions, as in the border zone between the municipalities of Serpa and Mértola. The need to protect this area is based mainly through the presence of migratory fish species, including sturgeon, and the Portuguese Guadiana the only river where this species still occurs, the Saramugo, other endemic fishes, the European and Mediterranean tortoise turtle, in addition to terrestrial vegetation well preserved. Among the threats that affect this space can cite the low flows during drought periods, water pollution originating from human and agricultural activities, construction of large hydraulic works, the extraction of aggregates, overgrazing and poaching of species.
The Marshland Nature Reserve of Castro Marim and Vila Real de Santo António includes 2,312 ha of salt marshes, forests, agricultural and forested areas, it is a protected area of major importance because of the role it plays as a variety of natural motherhood species of fish and a place of migration, wintering and nesting grounds for many species of birds "as outlined in the preliminary proposal. Several public discussion of this project has been promoted by various environmental organizations with the population of both countries in order to discuss its disclosure in broad and civic manner.
