The municipal corporation approved a motion to reinforce the 'Sierra de Mijas' protection in the July Ordinary Plenary Session. The proposal regarding the fire, the recovery actions, and the management model of the public forest were approved with all the Councillors' votes, except for the non-attached Councillor Esperanza Jiménez abstaining.

The Mayor of Mijas, Josele González (PSOE), presented the motion and explained that the motion's drafting was "agreed the day before" with contributions from the government team and the opposition. It urges the Junta de Andalucía and the central government to carry out various measures such as a restoration and reforestation plan. Also, planned development for the prevention and conservation of public forests, the Sierra to be declared as a high fire risk area, and the setting up of a working committee to study the effects of climate emergency on the fires. And, finally, its cataloguing as a Natural Park.

"After the devastating blow to our mountains, we believed it was essential to bring this motion to the plenary to join forces and work together to coordinate the management and conservation model of the public forest in the short, medium and long term", explained the Councillor.  "It is a text that we have brought to the entire corporation to achieve a common text which addresses essential aspects such as the request to the competent administrations in the field of forests, as is the case of the Junta de Andalucía. The aim is to allocate more resources to the maintenance and care of our mountains and to start a coordinated plan for reforestation and restoration of our beloved mountain as soon as possible".

"After this misfortune, we have to look to the future and work on the Regeneration Plan to develop a Reforestation Plan that will help us to recover our natural heritage", said the Councillor for the Environment Arancha López (Cs). She stressed "the need to continue fighting" to achieve the classification as a Natural Park" and thus protect even better the fauna and flora of our ecosystem in coordination with the other municipalities that make up this natural area.  Cataloguing the Sierra de Mijas-Alpujata as a Natural Park is necessary. I think it is something that we have been working on for many years," added the spokesman for the PSOE Municipal Group, Roy Pérez.

Contributions

The motion has gone ahead with the inclusion of three clarifications made by the PP, such as including the word restoration in the reforestation plan, adding "urge the Junta de Andalucía". Also, by asking the Ministry of Agriculture to declare a high fire risk area and adding "following article 62.3.c" when asking the Andalusian Government to develop a plan for the prevention and conservation of public forests, as explained by the spokesman of the Municipal Popular Group, Ángel Nozal.  Councillor also offered his collaboration. "Urge, advise or offer to collaborate as much as possible so that we can reach this agreement that allows us to make the State and the Junta de Andalucía fulfil their obligations", said Nozal. He congratulated the Mayor "for bringing this point at this time as a matter of urgency". In this respect, González pointed out that, although work is on an agreement, there is another in force with the Junta de Andalucía signed in 2004.

 

For his part, Jiménez considered that the thanks were insufficient and made several proposals that were not included. Among them, the amendment presented and approved in the Plenary Session of the 2021 budget "to protect and monitor the Sierra de Mijas, creating jobs" should be developed. Local emergency plans for forest fires' drawing up to restrict motor vehicles from entering the quarry in the sandbanks and "to create fire fighting ponds in Osunillas and Valtocado to support the aerial resources, as has been requested for some time by the Mijas ecologists". The Environment Councillor replied that work is already underway on the ponds' installation. INFOCA will be taken into account as the Town Hall has approved the Local Emergency Plan for Forest Fires since 16th June 2021, and  the Junta has already been asked to restrict access to the area.

The Town Council will also request a meeting with the Environment Delegate and invite all political groups and non-attached Councillors to the meeting, the Mayor added. 

Thanks

The motion thanks all the professionals and personnel who worked to extinguish the fire that broke out on 15th July in the Sierra de Mijas. Likewise, we thank volunteers and members of Civil Protection. They once again have collaborated to alleviate the effects of an emergency of this scale. "To them, and to all the municipal workers and rural guards, the groups, companies, and individuals who gave their collaboration or offered to help. We want to express our most sincere thanks", concluded González. All the political groups and non-attached Councillors joined in this thanks, although Jiménez considered it insufficient. "I would like to express my gratitude to all the people, both professionals and volunteers," said the non-attached Councillor Carlos Rivero. "I am grateful for the agreement on such an important aspect as expressed in this motion. I support all the agreements. What I do ask is that the administrations should be quick to implement them and that the government team should, as far as possible, ask the Junta for powers to implement the most urgent measures in reforestation". 

The mountains

 More importantly, it is the only outcrop of Alpine iherolitic peridotite in the world, as the Alpujata mountain range has unique textures and structures. Some 135 species of birds are in the area, plus 35 species of mammals. The Sierra covers the municipalities of Mijas, Malaga, Alhaurin de la Torre, Alhaurin el Grande, Benalmadena, Torremolinos, Coin, Monda and Ojen. Its richness has been recognised by the 'Centro Superior de Investigaciones Científicas', CSIC, which supported with scientific criteria the cataloguing of ‘Sierra Mijas-Alpujata’ as a Natural Park, according to municipal sources.

 

This wealth was endangered after the declaration of a forest fire, which burned an estimated 2,000 hectares between Mijas, Alhaurin el Grande, and Alhaurin de la Torre, and caused nearly 2,300 families to be evicted from these two neighbouring municipalities. The fire mobilised more than 400 troops to control and extinguish the blaze.

The eight agreements

1.- To thank and recognise the work carried out by all the professionals and personnel sent to the area and who worked to extinguish the fire that started on 15th July in the ‘Sierra de Mijas’. Also, the volunteers and Civil Protection members helped to alleviate the effects of an emergency of this scope.  

2.- Also, municipal workers and rural guards collaborate to facilitate the firefighters' work on the ground and ensure the water and food supply to the animals in our Sierra at all times. 

3.- The individuals and groups collaborating or have offered to collaborate these days, and the companies that made themselves available from the very first moment.

4.- To urge the Junta de Andalucía to implement a 'Restoration and Reforestation Plan' for the affected areas as soon as possible, taking into account the environmental groups and associations in the area. 

5.- To urge the Junta de Andalucía, which is responsible for the prevention and conservation of public forests, to develop a 'Prevention and Conservation Plan' for our public forests with the promotion of prevention measures throughout the year following article 62.3.c of the 'Ley de Montes' (Law on Forestry).

6.- To urge the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, and the Junta de Andalucía to declare the 'Sierra de Mijas-Alpujata' as a high fire risk area or preferential protection area.

7.- To urge the Junta de Andalucía to set up a work and study commission to analyse the climatic emergency which may be affecting fires behaviour. The result will be the creation of new protocols adapted to the existing reality, including new reforestation, prevention and action plans in our mountains.

8.- To request the 'Sierra Mijas-Alpujata' cataloguing as a Natural Park, to increase the conservation resources allocated to this unique location, and to safeguard this natural area of great environmental value. 

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