ARBA is an association created in 1986 whose objective is not only to recover the autochthonous forest, but in general all the native plant formations, whether forest or shrub.

ARBA Cartagena-La Unión, one of its youngest delegations, was created in 2014 and, since then, has been carrying out continuous actions at the local level focused on the recovery of our natural spaces and their biodiversity in the Cartagena Region.

The “Green Trench Program” is an initiative created in 2020 by ARBA Cartagena-La Unión and promoted by the Cartagena City Council through the Reforestation Table.

This program – which is aligned with the SDG 13 (Climate Action) and 15 (Life on Land) of the United Nations contemplated within the 2030 Agenda – establishes the guidelines to create a barrier against desertification of our coastline throughout this decade, connecting the fragmented natural spaces from Cabo Tiñoso to Cabo de Palos.

The “Baluarte Project”, like all those previously carried out by ARBA Cartagena-La Unión, is geographically framed in the “Green Trench Programme” and follows the guidelines that it establishes.

The main objective of the project will be to restore the lands of Fajardo Battery Mountains and the surroundings of El Espalmador in a biodiverse forest Cypress of Cartagena (Tetraclinis articulata), with the introduction of climatic species of this habitat, which try to reproduce the original existing forest before human activity.

The end result will be a complex forest, of high ecological value, generator of food and shelter for the local fauna and resistant to the climatic conditions of the area and more resistant to fire. In addition, this forest will act as a seed generator nucleus in the future, helping the natural recovery of other nearby areas.

The project will also be complemented with two secondary objectives aimed at conditioning and reducing the risk of fire in the area:

• The thinning of the mass of Carrasco pine (Pinus halapensis) specimens in the valley between the Fajardo and Galeras mountains to limit the distance between individuals and their replacement with fire-resistant autochthonous species.

• The elimination of non-native species present in the area of action.

• The cleaning of garbage in the area and the installation of barriers that prevent the entry of vehicles.

• The installation of billboards and information media on the access tracks to the mountain to publicize the natural and historical heritage of Fajardo and its battery.

The planting of up to 3,000 plants is planned for 3 consecutive years, in three different phases, from 2021 to 2024.

Prosur is collaborating in the financing of this environmental restoration project in Fajardo as part of its commitment to sustainability and the SDGs.