Baião City Council will create a nature trail along the Ovil River. The first phase of the work is approximately 2.5 kilometers long between Ponte Nova (Ancede) and the mouth of the river (Ribadouro).
The works have already been awarded for the value of 157 thousand euros, financed by the Portuguese Environment Agency and the Baião City Council.
The works should start between the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022.
In the future, this route will have more phases, and an application for funding is being prepared for the extension between Outoreça (Ovil) and Várzea (Campelo).
The Baião City Council intends to create more routes of this type, namely on the Teixeira River, on the Douro River and in other parts of the county that meet the necessary conditions for their execution.
The route that will benefit has a great wealth of native species in terms of fauna and flora, as well as a high environmental value. When an ecological corridor is created, it will become a place for leisure and will contribute to the awareness and environmental education of users.
RESOURCE OF NATURAL ENGINEERING
The pedestrian path will be on the banks of the river, with an average width of 2 meters.
Rehabilitation and enhancement of the river will be carried out, in a sustainable development strategy and using natural engineering techniques. This area of engineering is concerned with the enhancement of watercourses and stabilization of slopes through the use of living material, combined with inert structures such as wood or stone.
The work foresees the accomplishment of works of consolidation of the margins, cutting and cleaning of the vegetation, containment of exotic and invasive vegetation and removal of debris.
Existing paths will be improved, through the application of resistant pavements, and the installation of wooden urban furniture and the construction of ditches for the routing of water in places where there is a need.
COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY
The Municipality of Baião has for several years followed a strategy of valuing and safeguarding its natural resources, especially about its native forest and inland rivers. Since 2019, it has been working on a demanding internationally recognized certification, as a Sustainable Tourist Destination, which implements quality benchmarks defined by the Global Sustainable Council (GSTC), with the municipality being audited annually by the Australian Non-Governmental Organization EarthCheck.
