In the Baix Ter area, the mouth of the Ter river, an extensive agricultural plain, a marshland and wetland area, and a partially urbanised coastline converge. The resident population in the municipalities of the Baix Ter (especially Torroella de Montgrí and l’Estartit) is approximately 12,000 inhabitants, although in the summer season it can multiply by four due to tourist influx, especially linked to sun and beach tourism, but also to nautical activities and diving, which is explained by the presence of the Montgrí, Medes Islands and Baix Ter Natural Park.
This area of the Costa Brava is a clear example of the interaction between natural processes, urbanisation and environmental naturalisation. The DUAL project focuses on three distinct areas.
The project in Baix Ter seeks to reinforce the coast against erosion, recovering dunes and natural spaces, restore the coastal profile and ensure a sustainable environment for people and biodiversity, building on previously developed actions.
The Ter Vell is one of the former mouths of the Ter river, before it was channelled towards the current Gola in the mid-19th century, giving rise to this coastal lagoon. For decades, access to the beach at this point was facilitated by an informal car park right on the beach. Today, this structure is in the process of being removed and the beach-dune-backdune-marsh-lagoon chain is being restored.
To the south, the Griells development, developed on the seafront during the 1960s, today presents the most erosive stretch of coast of the work area. The anthropised space is the disruptive element of the active coastal system, making it difficult for the system to recover after storms. Recently, dunes have been developed in front of the urbanised area, which has noticeably limited the erosion rate in recent years. Between Griells and the mouth of the Ter river is the third DUAL work area in the Baix Ter: La Pletera. In this area, construction of a housing development for 1,350 homes began in the 1980s. The urbanisation of the land involved a profound alteration of the natural habitats, which were covered with waste materials to raise the ground level, and a promenade of approximately one kilometre in length was built over them.
The economic crisis following the 1992 Olympic Games and other factors, such as changes in legislation on the maritime-terrestrial public domain and the new sensibilities of local governments, converged to prevent the complete transformation of these sectors and to enable, in 2014, works on deconstruction of this section and naturalisation of lagoons and marshes to begin within the framework of various LIFE projects.
In parallel, the Montgrí, Medes Islands and Baix Ter Natural Park, in cooperation with the LIFE project, initiated the development of a dune strip on the coastal front that mitigates coastal erosion and annually accumulates thousands of cubic metres of sand, thus recovering the topographic profile typical of the area.
