Two villages in Cantabria want to join through a new road. They have encountered an obstacle: the bear

On paper the project of the Reinosa-Potes road It is ‘alone’ that: the project of a new road between two Cantabrian regions, an infrastructure not excessively long (14 or 20 kmdepending on the option that is chosen) that would mobilize about 100 million euros in investment. That on paper. In practice the idea has generated a considerable debate In Cantabria in which two other hot issues are played in The region Spain: the Tourist and the complex balance in protection of the brown bear.

The debate is served.

What happened? That in the Cantabrian policy an old project recovered by the PP government is gaining prominence: the Potes-Reinosa road, a vial of some 14 or 20 kilometers (depending on the alternative that is chosen) that I would unite the regions of Campoo and Liebana crossing the heart of the Cantabrian mountain range. The idea is not new. He already tried to get ahead in the 90s, at the time of the president Juan Hormaecheaalthough its origins can go back further, at the end of the Decade of 1960.

Why is it important? Because, beyond its extension, technical characteristics or budget, estimated among the 90 and 100 million eurosthe Potes-Reinosa road project has implications that play some of the most relevant songs of Cantabrian (and Spanish) news: Touristintegration and environmental conservation, directly affecting, according to their detractors, the efforts to recover the brown bear in the region.

And what is the reason? That the road (a new section from the CA-183 and the PK 20 of the CA-184 endowed with two lanes of 3.5 meters) would pass through the heart of the Cantabrian mountain range. And so, They warn their detractorsit would have an environmental impact of draft. “The northern slope of the Sierra del Cordel and the Sierra de Híjar, both included in the Special Conservation Zone (ZEC) ‘Altos del Nansa and Saja and Alto Campoo’ would A manifesto that exceeds 1,900 signatures and has the support of at least 200 experts.

In The documentpromoted by Cantabrist and individuals, including scientists and researchers of ecology, zoology, geography and hydraulic, the reasons why they reject the new road are used. But above all there is one of weight: its impact on habitats and species that seeks to protect precisely the ZEC zone declaration. “It would not only endanger valuable mountain ecosystems, but would go against the conservation commitments of Spain.”

And what do the bears have to do? That is another of the weight arguments put in The manifestoin which in addition to warning that the new road “would fragment” habitats, “would alter” ecological corridors and vehicle traffic would generate noise and light pollution, warn of the impact that it would have in particular on the populations of bears. “The road crosses the areas delimited by the Pardo Bear Recovery Plan in Cantabria,” ditch.

“These areas have been specifically designated for the protection and recovery of an endangered species, whose habitat is already seriously fragmented,” The manifesto wields Before pointing out that the works could lead to sanctions and challenges. In the event that the project is carried out and the works are terminated, Cantabristas points the risk of bear abuses.

Why is it interesting? The warning connects with the debate about the recovery of the bear in the Peninsular North. After being almost convicted of The disappearance for the harassment of the poachers and the deterioration of their habitat, the bear populations in the Cantabrian mountain range and other parts of the country They have increased In recent years, which in turn has had multiple derivatives.

In Asturias or León there are ranchers, Farmers and neighbors that They warn Of their negative impact, while in Somiedo, Asturias, they have seen in the populations of bears A powerful tourist reef that attracts every summer to thousands of visitors who aspire to see copies in freedom in the Cantabrian mountain range. Now in Cantabria they warn of the damage that would cause the noise and traffic of the new road in the behavior of the bears and their mating. “It would be incompatible with the conservation objectives”, They need.

A tourist road? The project touches another of the hottest issues in Cantabria: the risk of tourist massification, which He has already taken Thousands of neighbors to the street shouted from “We do not want to be the Ibiza del Norte”. He manifest Remember that Liébana and Campoo, the regions that would connect the vial, are “two widely tourist areas” and questions the real objective of the project, taking into account that both populations are already “connected through other routes of the road network.”

“At a time when sustainability and conservation must be priorities, and in a context of accelerated climate change and global biodiversity crisis, this type of macroprojects that serve only to massify tourism go in the opposite direction,” They add The detractors. As a Cantabrist complaint even deployed a banner close to 30 meters In Peña Labra in which “our mountains defend themselves.”

And why are you worried? In An interview With eldiario.es, the mayor of Potes María José Bustamante (PSOE) pointed in the same direction: “We understand that the enormous environmental cost or should or should be assumed because the only mobile we find to have launched this pharaonic project is none other than the tourist, and that is what we are already served in Liébana.” Over the last months the region has reached take action To limit the influx of visitors at certain iconic points, such as the Cabezón de la Sal or the Lighthouse of the Horse of Santoña.

Are all criticism? No. The Government of Cantabria defend The importance of the project and questions that actions such as Cantabristas really represent the feeling of the inhabitants of the region. His Development Councilor, Roberto Media, also insists that the infrastructure is “of first necessity for many” Cantabrians, not a work designed for tourists. Moreover, the leader warns that there are valleys “who are dying to be incommunicado.”

“We are not going to allow that to remain so”, insists averagethat already ahead that the Cantabrian government will not take “a step back” in its plans to connect the valleys of Campoo, Liébana and Nansa so that its neighbors improve its connection with the plateau or can arrive at the Reinosa hospital in “just over 20 minutes.” The Executive already has awarded The informative study with an investment of more than 400,000 euros.

Image | Cantabrist

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