''Pollution levels in the Pyrenees are low, except for some traffic and industry related sources''.
''Los niveles de contaminación en el Pirineo son bajos, excepto algunos focos relacionados con tráfico e industria''
''Pollution levels in the Pyrenees are low, except for some traffic and industry related sources''.
50 Spanish and French scientists meet at the University of Navarra in the I International congress Environment and Pyrenees
According to Jesús Miguel Santamaría, professor and researcher in environmental pollution of the School of Sciences of the University of Navarra, "the levels of pollution in the Pyrenees are low, although there are some important foci linked to communication nodes and certain industries distributed discontinuously on both sides of it". This was stated by the expert on the occasion of the I congress International Environment and Pyrenees, which will take place in the academic center from tomorrow, Wednesday 19, until Friday 21 October.
The meeting, the first of its kind subject to be organized in Europe, involves fifty Spanish and French scientists who carry out various environmental research projects in the Pyrenees. Its goal consists of creating a common forum and a network of exchange of information that bring together the projects carried out in this area and the data obtained, so that synergies and groups of work can be created between both countries, as well as between the different Spanish regions that include the Pyrenees.
On the environmental quality of this region, Jesús Miguel Santamaría - who also directs the Integrated Environmental Quality laboratory (LICA) of the University of Navarra - stresses that the Pyrenees "constitute a natural barrier for pollutants coming from northern Europe, which are then deposited on the French or Spanish slopes depending on the orography and meteorological conditions. Consequently, pollutants from remote places have been detected in ecosystems of great ecological value despite being far away from anthropogenic sources".
On the other hand, and although environmental quality is generally good, the specialist warns that nitrogen pollution - linked to the main road junctions that cross the mountain range, such as the Somport, Cadí and Bielsa tunnels, the Irún pass or the Biriatou tunnel - may increase in the coming years. "This fact should be seriously considered, since the so-called reactive nitrogen is involved in major environmental problems: climate change, tropospheric ozone training , eutrophication, biodiversity loss, etc., with Pyrenean ecosystems being particularly vulnerable to its effects."
The problem of trout and biodiversity in the Pyrenees
Another source of pollution that could be relevant in this area would be the promotion of biomass combustion. For Jesús Miguel Santamaría, "although it is necessary to advance in the use of alternative fuels, the employment of firewood and wood chips to obtain calorific power can lead to an increase in the release of hydrocarbons and toxic particulate matter, since the combustion of this biomass subject is incomplete. Consequently, there could be a paradox, already observed in some Pyrenean villages, where the concentrations of these compounds are higher than those detected in urban areas. However, this problem can be significantly reduced by using pellets, whose combustion is more efficient and generates far fewer pollutants".
The congress, which coincides with the International Year of the Pyrenees, will focus on the biodiversity of the Pyrenees and the main pollution problems. Arturo Ariño, professor of the department of Zoology of the University of Navarra and member of the international network GBIF, will be in charge of the first topic . Professor Rafael Miranda will speak on the problems of trout in the Pyrenean basins. Finally, Juan Arizaga, from the Aranzadi Scientific Society, will analyze the migratory flows of birds through the mountain range, among other topics of interest.