Mijas has posidonia meadows on its coastline with an incalculable ecological value. It is an aquatic plant with similar characteristics to terrestrial plants, with roots, stems and leaves up to one metre long, and serves as a guarantee for biodiversity. To raise awareness of its importance, the Aula del Mar Mediterráneo Foundation and the ‘Circular Seas’ programme of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, in collaboration with Mijas Town Hall and the Provincial Delegation of Sustainability, Environment and Blue Economy of the Junta de Andalucía, have organised a series of environmental awareness days as part of the ‘Submerged Forests’ project. 

The mayoress of Mijas, Ana Mata (PP), accompanied by the councillor for Beaches, Daniel Gómez Teruel (PP), attended this event, held at Calahonda-Alhamar beach. There she recalled that posidonia is extremely important, as it has the ability to filter sediment and suspended particles, making the water more transparent, maintaining oxygen and quality. 

“This plant is so important for our biodiversity that in Mijas we have a Special Conservation Area (ZEC Calahonda, ES6170030). This is the area between Calahonda and the Calaburras lighthouse, which means more than 1,400 hectares of land that we want to enhance”, he said, thanking the Aula del Mar Mediterráneo Foundation and the Junta de Andalucía for their collaboration in the promotion of this ecosystem. 

Also present throughout the day were Rafael Jiménez Maldonado, technical advisor to the Natural Protected Areas Service, and Manuel Gondrona, from the Natural Environment Management Service. 

On Thursday 4th, this initiative was divided into two different parts. From 10:00 to 13:00, awareness and environmental education activities and workshops were held on the beaches of Calahonda-Alhamar and El Bombo aimed at all age groups. In fact, to raise awareness among children, 150 children from the El Olmo and El Chaparral summer schools attended the event. Those attending, including the councillor for the Environment, Marco Cortés (PP), also had the opportunity to get a closer look at sea turtles through experiences with virtual reality goggles.

At the same time, an underwater awareness activity was carried out on the Calahonda-Alhamar beach with divers in order to highlight the care of posidonias on the seabed and how to carry out good practices in this area, that is, how divers should behave in order to take care of marine ecosystems.  

In this sense, Juan Antonio López Jaime, president of the Aula del Mar Mediterráneo Foundation, wanted to highlight the importance of this type of actions to emphasise the wealth of our seabed and to raise awareness about its preservation: “The posidonia meadows are our ‘Mediterranean Submerged Forests’. Their protection is essential to ensure the health of this unique sea and all its biodiversity”.

This new edition showed once again that the presence of invasive algae and rising water temperatures are a serious threat for the preservation of these submerged meadows.

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