He ‘Libera’ Projectcreated by SEO/BirdLife in alliance with Ecoembes, has called for a new edition of the citizen science campaign ‘1m2 for rivers, lakes and reservoirs’, which will take place from March 9 to 24. The campaign, which this year will last three weeks for the first time, aims to continue expanding knowledge about the environmental impact of ‘garbage’ (garbage in nature) in river environments.
In this way, coinciding with the International Day of Riverswhich is celebrated on March 14, ‘Libera’ wants to add again, for the seventh year, new ‘liberators’ people willing to remove garbage from the country’s river environments.
With this campaign, data is collected to analyze both the typology and the weight of garbage found in these environments. Until next March 3, any organization, association or entity can participate by creating collection points through the website: https://proyectolibera.org/campanas-medioambiente/1m2/ecosistemas-fluviales.
As in all citizen science campaigns, participating groups will receive a prior training and they will use the mobile apps ‘eLitter’ and ‘Basuraleza’, developed by the associations ‘Paisaje Limpio’ and ‘Vertidos Cero’ in collaboration with Libera.
The data obtained will be integrated into the database of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) and will be added to the already characterized objects that Libera collects in its ‘Garbage Barometer‘.
In the last edition of 2023, of ‘1m2 for rivers, lakes and reservoirs’, during the cleaning and data collection days that were developed thanks to the collaboration of more than 5,000 liberators in 350 points of the country, More than 30 tons of garbage were removed of which 77,000 objects were categorized.
Among the garbage most found and characterized in river environments, the first ones stood out: wipesfollowed by the butts, bags and drink cans.
Awareness actions
“Rivers and wetlands are environments especially sensitive to threats. In Spain, water scarcity and pollution, to which garbage disposal contributes, constitute two important impact factors“says Miguel Muñoz, coordinator of the LIBERA Project at SEO/BirdLife.
“In addition, various investigations indicate that Rivers are one of the main transmitters of garbage to the oceans. Therefore, it is essential to continue raising awareness about the importance of conserving these ecosystems that assure us a future with higher quality because they provide us with basic services, such as water or electricity. temperature regulation“, Muñoz.
“It is essential to continue raising awareness about the pollution in our rivers, lakes and reservoirs caused by waste abandonment. We must not only be informed, but also seek solutions to preserve our natural environment“explains Sara Güemes, coordinator of the LIBERA Project at Ecoembes.
“Thanks to this initiative and the commitment of various groups and associations involved, we will be able to obtain more information about the origin of garbage and undertake awareness and sensitization actions in favor of our rivers,” he emphasizes.
This citizen science and waste collection campaign aims to deepen our knowledge of the abandoned waste that invades the different river environments of our country. This garbage, which ends up threatening all marine ecosystems, has been dragged and transported by river channels.
Prevent its proliferation in rivers, swamps and reservoirs and improve scientific knowledge What we have about its environmental impact is therefore essential for the conservation of these natural spaces. For this reason, Libera, in addition to this campaign, collaborates with several hydrographic confederations to act on the basins and with the help of those responsible, there and in more than 260 protected natural spaces.
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Contact of the Environment section: crisisclimatica@prensaiberica.es