13-02-2019:CPM - Once again, the Consorci de l’Estany, together with the association LIMNOS and the Darder Museum, celebrated the World Wetlands Day as a commemoration of the Ramsar Convention signed in 1971 for the protection of aquatic ecosystems worldwide. This year's motto is "We are not powerless against climate change".
Taking advantage of this commemoration, every year we aim to publicize one of the various wetlands in the Pla de l'Estany region. This year, Pond Espolla (in Catalan: Estanyol de la Platja d'Espolla) was chosen.
Thus, last Sunday, February the 3rd, a guided tour of the Estanyol d'Espolla was carried out by Carles Quer, a biologist and member of LIMNOS, and Miquel Campos, technical coordinator of the Consorci de l'Estany.
Thirty people attended the visit and were able to explore the new itinerary around the Estanyol d'Espolla that was opened last summer.
During the visit, it was possible to discover its unique hydrological mechanism, which leads it to fill up every now and then with groundwater coming from the Alta Garrotxa region, as well as other peculiarities such as: the piezometer located next to the pond that measures the groundwater pressure; how the pond is managed; which are its natural values in terms of fauna and flora; and even the Paleolithic site found in the area.
The pond’s social services and the human impacts affecting it were also recalled: the shooting range, the quarry, the motocross field, the highway and the industrial park. Finally, they dedicated some moments to talking about the water springs, the amazing living-fossil Triops cancriformis and the amphibians, all of them treasures of this unique site.
The organizing entities want to emphasize that this itinerary, which currently covers only half of the pond, allows to improve the vision of the Estanyol d'Espolla and at the same time regulates the accesses and reduces the impact of visitors on the site. Also, informative panels and dioramas representing the species which inhabit the site.
They also highlight the importance of raising awareness among visitors in order to avoid inopportune behaviors such as those occurred in recent years when the lake filled up.
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