Renaturalization of the banks of the Ouro river

Description: Renaturing of the river banks and creation of natural space for recreation and tourism located in a riverside area. This project also contributes to the achievement of the following indicator: Implementation of specific strategies for the valorisation of endogenous resources.

Country: Portugal

City: Village Arco de Baúlhe

City size: 4.47 km²

Population: 1669 (2011)

start: 2020

Timeframe: 7 months

Phase: Completed

Nature-based solutions (NBS) : No

Initiator: PROVERE - Programa de Valorização Económica dos Recursos Endógenos e conta também com o apoio da Iberdrola.

Website source: https://cabeceirasdebasto.pt/26425

Latitude: 41.486017919861055

Longitude: -7.960557152099729

Co-benefits

Increased infiltration, water retention and flood protection

Yes

Reduced drought risk, cooling effect, urban heat island mitigation

Yes

Biodiversity conservation or increased biodiversity

Yes, through renaturalization of the river banks.

Increased quality and quantity of green and blue infrastructures

Yes, this project envisages the creation of green open public spaces theorugh the renaturalization of river banks (Município de Cabeceiras de Basto, 2021).

Improved aesthetic value

Yes

Increased access to green infrastructure

Yes

Increased social interaction and inclusion

Yes, the implementation of this project is to ensure the natural space located in the river area, its necessary conditions for general public, which makes it a real tourist attraction, especially in recent days (Município de Cabeceiras de Basto, 2021).

Provision of health benefits

Yes

Original problems

Flooding risk

Yes

Drought and heat risk

Yes, the Mediterranean Basin is undergoing a warming trend with longer and warmer summers, an increase in the frequency and the severity of heat waves, changes in precipitation patterns and a reduction in rainfall amounts (Linares et al; 2020).

Low availability of green infrastructure

Yes

SDGs

Good health and well-being (SDG3)

Yes

Climate action, resilience, mitigation and adaptation (SDG13)

Yes

Terrestrial biodiversity (SDG15)

Yes

Reference: Linares, C., Díaz, J., Negev, M., Martínez, G.S., Debono, R. and Paz, S. 2020. Impacts of climate change on the public health of the Mediterranean Basin population - current situation, projections, preparedness and adaptation. Environmental Research, 182:109107 Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2019.109107.

Município de Cabeceiras de Basto. 2021. Renaturalização das margens do rio de Ouro no lugar do Caneiro. Information obtained: 2021-12-16. Available at: https://cabeceirasdebasto.pt/26425.