The full recovery of the restoration activity on mining farms in Catalonia will have to wait. During the last meeting of the Consejo Asesor de Áridos de Cataluña, online on 30 May, it became clear how the Covid-19 pandemic continued to prevent the achievement of previous work volumes in 2021. Thus, for example, only 4 new atmospheric emission authorizations were granted throughout the year (when 2019 had been 21).
Restoration projects initiated also continued at low levels, and this was the case with the inspections of the restoration program, which were 373 (in contrast to more than 400 years before the pandemic). The total restored area was 70.37 ha, a figure which, while improving the 40.28 ha by 2020, is still far from 115.07 ha by 2019. Restoration plans are part of the generality’s grant of exploitation and are aimed at enhancing the biodiversity of animal or plant species in each area, and at encouraging environmental disenforcement of these natural areas.
During the Council’s working session, the report of conjuncture and a forecast analysis of the future demand for arids in Catalonia was presented. It was also reported on the results achieved in the processes of evaluation and control of restoration through remote sensing and photo interpretation that bring very high-resolution images obtained with drones.
The Consejo Asesor de Áridos is a multi-sectoral body dedicated to analyzing the demand for arids and enhancing their sustainable production. It consists of representatives of various departments of the Generalitat, as well as private sector entities such as the Colegio de Ingenieros de Minas, the Gremio de Áridos de Cataluña, Ciment Català, among others.