Playful days of relationship with the territory and learning. The LIFE Ebro Resilience P1 Project brings the river closer to the citizens with two guided routes on October 4 and 18 that combine nature, knowledge and participation.
On this occasion, neighbors of the banks of the Ebro and anyone interested are invited to discover first hand the riverside groves and the actions taken to reduce the risk of flooding.
🧢 Practical information
Both activities are free, but require prior registration. It is recommended to wear comfortable clothing, a hat, appropriate footwear and walking sticks if used regularly. Upon registration, detailed logistical information will be sent to participants.
️ Route through the Ebro groves between Castejón and Alfaro
Date: October 4, 2025
Itinerary: walk through the river copses between Castejón and Alfaro, with special attention to flood risk management and environmental restoration.
During this activity, key issues on adaptation to flood risk in this stretch of the river will be addressed, and dialogue with participants will be encouraged. The route, which will start in Castejón (Navarra), go to Alfaro (La Rioja) and return to the municipality of Navarra, is an opportunity to learn about the biodiversity of the copses and reflect on how to coexist with the floods of the Ebro.
Route along the Meandro de Aguilar (Zaragoza) under construction
📅 Date: October 18, 2025
📍 Itinerary: circular route of about 6 km through the meander of Aguilar, in Fuentes de Ebro (Zaragoza) where works are currently being carried out for the recessing of the dams and river restoration.
This route will allow direct observation of the interventions underway to widen the river space and reduce flood damage. In addition, the concept of lateral flow buffer zones and temporary flood areas, one of the most innovative proposals of the LIFE Ebro Resilience P1 project, will be explained.
LIFE Ebro Resilience
This project has European funding and brings together public administrations to reduce the effects of flood risk in the middle stretch (Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge; Ebro Hydrographic Confederation; Government of Aragon and the Aragonese Water Institute).
In recent years, in addition to interventions to adapt to the floods, it has been carrying out informative activities such as these routes, descents in inflatable boats in different sections of the river, exhibitions, etc.
Proceedings
In the combined section of actions, Project Zone 1 between Alfaro and Castejón, the LIFE Ebro Resilience P1 project has implemented nature-based solutions to improve the capacity of the river and recover floodable areas. The morphological adaptation of the La Roza meander has returned 22 hectares to the river dynamics and is now part of the Natura 2000 Network “Sotos y Riberas del Ebro”.
In addition, old river branches have been reopened in the Soto de Alfaro, restoring a total of 60 hectares and irrigating the forest to reactivate its natural processes.
The morphological adaptation and recovery of the fluvial space of the meander of El Señorío, in Castejón, is planned.
In Zone 2, in the Osera de Ebro – Fuentes de Ebro (Zaragoza) section, where the Aguilar meander is located, LIFE Ebro Resilience P1 is in the first phase of morphological adaptation.
A total of 2,035 m of protection dikes are being removed along the riverbed and are being built further away from the river, thus recovering 20 hectares of river space for environmental restoration.
In addition, a section of secondary irrigation pipeline has been buried and moved, avoiding interruptions in the supply during floods and improving water efficiency in the adjacent agricultural area.
The project is moving towards the implementation of Lateral Flow Buffer Zones (LFZ) on 350 hectares of farms.
These areas will be flooded in a controlled manner just before the river overcomes its defenses, generating “water mattresses” that allow the flood to pass parallel to the main channel.
This minimizes erosion damage and losses to crops and infrastructure.
Like all LIFE Ebro Resilience P1 actions, the definition of these SFPAs has been carried out through a participatory process with farmers, municipalities and technicians, becoming an innovative reference solution for adaptive flood management in other European basins.
LIFE Project
The LIFE Ebro Resilience P1 Project (LIFE20 ENV/ES/00327), approved by the European Commission in the LIFE 2020 call, covers three autonomous communities (La Rioja, Navarra and Aragón), has a duration of 6 years and a total budget of 13,310,350 €, with 55% European funding.
This project is also an example of institutional coordination and cooperation in the intervention section, its partners being the Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge (MITECO), through its companies TRAGSA and TRAGSATEC; the Ebro Hydrographic Confederation; the Government of La Rioja; the Government of Navarra, through Gestión Ambiental de Navarra, S.A. (GAN-NIK); the Government of Aragón and the Aragonese Water Institute.