From the beaches of Dénia to the farms of the entire region: the sustainable future of posidonia
From the Xarxa Agrícola de Creama together with the Dénia City Council, they have promoted the agro-posidonia project, a circular economy initiative that contributes to reducing the carbon footprint. With the current system of removal of Posidonia from the beaches, it is treated as a resource, and in turn, the kilometers in transport are significantly reduced.
The posidonia, together with the algae, in the summer season is removed from the beaches and stored in a transfer plant; When the winter season arrived, the Dénia City Council made the decision to transfer part of this material to the beach, mainly to the Marineta Cassiana beach, to serve as a protection barrier against storms. The material that is not used as a barrier and the surplus produced after a storm are taken to the livestock farms in the Marina Alta region that collaborate with the Xarxa Agrícola, located in Pedreguer, Dénia and Pego, just 10 km from the points pickup.
Algae and posidonia, due to their salty properties, are an excellent material as bedding for livestock. This material is deposited in the pens and helps to repel parasites, and the iodine present in posidonia acts as a healing agent for possible wounds that animals have, in addition, its slow decomposition due to salt complicates the growth and development of pathogens .
Previously, when the cleaning of the beaches by a company had not yet taken place, the ranchers would go down with their carriages drawn by the animals and collect the Posidonia, transport it to their cattle farms and, once there, they used it as a bed for your animals. Over the years, this system ceased to be used, but it has served as an example to carry out this new initiative, in which around 30 tons of Posidonia have been recovered.
The Xarxa Agrícola stands as a regional platform with the aim of revitalizing the agricultural sector of the Marina Alta, creating a network between the different actors in the agricultural sector and interrelating the different resources of the region. It is a regional project, in which CREAMA supports the technical secretariat, and is included within the Avalem Territori program, subsidized by the Generalitat Valenciana through LABORA and by the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy. Internally, this is part of PACTE'MA, the Regional Agreement on Occupation and Local Development of the Marina Alta, of which 32 Municipalities of the region and 13 public and private entities currently form part.