PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
The project area was the municipality of Aranjuez, the southernmost municipality of the Madrid region, which extends over more than 19 000 ha on the frontier with La Mancha. Aranjuez has a population of 41 000 and attracts over a million visitors every year. It is in the middle of an area of sparsely populated villages, most of them growing dry land crops. The River Tagus is the backbone of the Aranjuez region. In this part of the central Spanish plateau, the waters of the Tagus have facilitated the creation of magnificent water meadows with a unique enclave of palaces and historic gardens. In addition to the immense, well-known architectural heritage of Aranjuez, two protected sites of great interest are located in the municipality: the largest butterfly reserve in Europe and Lake Ontígola, the reservoir created in the 16th century to irrigate the royal gardens. Over the centuries human intervention at this richly endowed site resulted in a literal oasis of agricultural productivity and biodiversity in the Castilian plateau. Two major additions to this closely integrated complex are the royal gardens and the extensive market gardens, which once produceed an extraordinary variety of fruit, vegetables and livestock, perfectly adapted to local conditions. The decline in agricultural activity which began in the late 1960s triggered a process of abandonment and deterioration of Aranjuez as a whole. The waning of agriculture not only damaged the local economy but also devestated the immense historical and natural heritage so closely linked to activity in these water meadows. Kilometres of avenues between centuries-old trees were left to deteriorate through disuse and neglect. The social situation in the municipality also deteriorated sharply, with unemployment rising to above the regional average and well above the Community average. However, despite this abandonment, the natural environment in Aranjuez is exceptionally beautiful and the basic natural resources on which this prodigious complex was built survived virtually intact. The basic structures of the river, water meadows, groves and gardens remained untouched and this project set out to use them as a springboard for recovery and revitalisation.
OBJECTIVES
The purpose of the project was to recover the characteristic biodiversity of the Aranjuez market gardens, by implementing a set of measures that would enable traditional crops to become financially viable again. This would increase the value of the natural elements of this periurban area and would help promote a new tourist asset in the municipality. Three areas of action were foreseen: - In-depth rehabilitation of the urban environment, groves, the historical avenues owned by the municipal and regional authorities, recovering their biological, landscape, historical and cultural value and harnessing their potential for use by the local population and tourists. This action would help to provide training and jobs for a considerable number of Aranjuez's inhabitants. - Reintroduction of the extraordinary biodiversity which Aranjuez's natural environment supported in the past, and could potentially support in the future. The project focused on reintroducing widely-diversified fruit and vegetable farming in the market gardens and on replanting and renovating the groves. Another objective was to create links between this type of agriculture and consumers in order to promote traditional crops. - Selective recovery of organic waste by means of a new composting plant for the municipal tree and park refuse.
RESULTS
The project successfully reversed the degradation and deterioration of the biodiversity of Aranjuez's natural systems and of its agriculture. This progress was achieved partly by taking specific action and partly by instilling in the local population and socioeconomic circles concerned a new way of looking at, using and benefiting from their rich natural heritage and by providing new sources of jobs based on local produce. The project also brought Aranjuez closer to its water meadows. This entailed combining action of various kinds: rehabilitating the routes connecting the centre with the meadows, generating new activities attracting inhabitants and encouraging them to put down roots in the town, and environmental education schemes to raise public awareness of local resources and produce. As regards the urban environment, the project succeeded in defining an action programme setting priorities for investment in, and rigorous management of, the natural and urban heritage. As regards agriculture, the objective was to encourage a shift towards production of and demand for traditional produce. Various measures were taken to achieve this, including the gradual conversion of farms and the establishment of consumer networks, which provided outlets for the produce, making production of these crops viable. This was further supported by the newly created 'Aranjuez natural' mark. Another objective was to improve the nutrient cycle by recovering and composting plant waste and returning it to the soil. Restoration of this biological cycle solved a number of problems. For example, it provided an outlet for the enormous volume of plant waste coming from the gardens, streets and market gardens and also helped to improved the organic quality of the soil, which had become severly depleted. The project successfully reversed the degradation and deterioration of the biodiversity of Aranjuez's natural systems and of its agriculture. This progress was achieved partly by taking specific action and partly by instilling in the local population and socioeconomic circles concerned a new way of looking at, using and benefiting from their rich natural heritage and by providing new sources of jobs based on local produce. The project also brought Aranjuez closer to its water meadows. This entailed combining action of various kinds: rehabilitating the routes connecting the centre with the meadows, generating new activities attracting inhabitants and encouraging them to put down roots in the town, and environmental education schemes to raise public awareness of local resources and produce. As regards the urban environment, the project succeeded in defining an action programme setting priorities for investment in, and rigorous management of, the natural and urban heritage. As regards agriculture, the objective was to encourage a shift towards production of and demand for traditional produce. Various measures were taken to achieve this, including the gradual conversion of farms and the establishment of consumer networks, which provided outlets for the produce, making production of these crops viable. This was further supported by the newly created 'Aranjuez natural' mark. Another objective was to improve the nutrient cycle by recovering and composting plant waste and returning it to the soil. Restoration of this biological cycle solved a number of problems. For example, it provided an outlet for the enormous volume of plant waste coming from the gardens, streets and market gardens and also helped to improved the organic quality of the soil, which had become severly depleted.
