Today, 2 February, World Wetlands Day is celebrated, commemorating the date when Convention on Wetlands was adopted on 2 february 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar.

This year the theme for World Wetlands Day is “Wetlands for a Sustainable Urban Future”, so urban wetlands making cities liveable. They are prized lands that provide many ecosystem services for living beings such as: controlling flooding, filtering waste from water, improving air quality, sourcing of drinking water and livelihoods or promoting human wellbeing.

To make cities sustainable into the future is essential retain, restore and preserve urban wetlands. For this reason, they must be included in the urban land use planning and involve residents in wetlands management.

These key factors are taken on by the City Council of Lugo, fostering directly through the Life Lugo+Byodinamic Project, which will restore a wetland in the industrial park of As Gándaras and promote its declaration as a Natural Site of Local Interest (ENIL), in an action developed by the City Council of Lugo and the University of Santiago de Compostela (Campus Terra).

As Gándaras Wetland is home to a significant number of wildlife species of conservation interest, both flora and fauna, as well as 3 types of protected habitats. This wetland is located on lands owned by the City Council of Lugo.

It is also intended that the As Gándaras wetland and the rest of the project’s actions will be framed within a sustainable urban planning of the City Council of Lugo, including measures aimed at mitigating and adapting to climate change, innovative in the European urban context.

Aerial image of As Gándaras wetland to be restored through LIFE Lugo+Byodinamic project