The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a universal call to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.
The 17 SDGs, integrated into the 2030 Agenda, recognise that interventions in one area will affect outcomes in others and that development must balance environmental, economic and social sustainability.
In this sense and in this context, local councils are key to their proximity to the population, their capacity to transform the environment and their agility in providing responses to citizens.
Huelva is a city that offers great advantages both to its inhabitants and to the public that visits it. In addition to having great tourist attractions, it enjoys a quieter, more leisurely lifestyle that provides a high quality of life.
The city of Huelva has a typically Mediterranean climate. It is characterised by generally mild temperatures all year round, except in summer when they are warm. In general, high relative humidity is observed in areas close to the sea, mild and rainy winters, and hot and dry summers with periods of drought. Autumns and springs are more variable in terms of temperature and precipitation.
Specifically, in Huelva it is worth highlighting the mild winter temperatures, the rainfall concentrated in the months of October to January, the high humidity, even in summer, and, above all, the hours of sunshine per year. In fact, in 2014 it was recognised as the Spanish city with the most hours of daylight per year.
The area of greatest environmental interest in the municipality of Huelva is the Marismas del Odiel Nature Reserve. This is part of the delta formed by the mouths of the Tinto and Odiel rivers. It has been declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO and a Special Protection Area for Birds.
With an extension of 71.85 km, part of which belongs to the municipal area of the city, in the Marismas del Odiel Marshes Nature Reserve you can observe different landscapes, from arms of water, lagoons and salt marshes (Bacuta, Aragonesas, Batán), to islands (Enmedio, Saltés and Bacuta), beaches (Espigón) or forests (el Almendral, el Acebuchal or la Cascajera).
As the rivers Tinto and Odiel pass through the city, close to their mouths, they deposit the sediments they carry laden with nutrients in the marshes that make up the nature reserve. This provides the base of the food chain with food. This is conducive to the stay of wildlife such as birds that come from Europe and migrate to Africa in the colder months. Most of the bird species we find are aquatic, such as spoonbills, grey herons, purple herons, mallards, marsh harriers, black-winged warblers, flamingos and ospreys, among other species.
The flora of the area is also very diverse, with salicornia and espartina, which are halophytes, resistant to high concentrations of salt, as well as taray, black juniper, kermes oak, mastic, jaguar, rockrose and rosemary.
The salt marshes are also located in the middle of the marshes, where salt is obtained from the Atlantic Ocean. Thanks to the tides, 12 crystallisation basins are filled with seawater that evaporates with the action of the sun and the wind until the salt crystallises.
As mentioned above, in addition to the marsh ecosystem, there are other ecosystems such as the Espigón beach, which is the only one belonging to the city. It is a beach that was formed from the construction of the Juan Carlos dam and has a length of 13,000 metres. Part of the beach is now a dog-friendly beach.
Green areas in cities are key to improving the health of the population, as they act by renewing the polluted air, while at the same time relaxing and providing a necessary escape from the concrete, creating bubbles of nature.
Green areas in cities are key to improving the health of the population, as they act by renewing the polluted air, while at the same time relaxing and providing a necessary escape from the concrete, creating bubbles of nature.
The city of Huelva has 8.85 m2 of green areas per inhabitant, above the Spanish average of almost 6 m2. This exceeds the recommendations of the European Union to have more than 5 m2 of green areas per inhabitant, or the criteria of the Andalusian Land Law, which requires the area of green space to be between 5 and 10 m2 per inhabitant.
There is a total of 1,303,043.08 m2 of green areas in Huelva, of which 350,000 m2 are grass, distributed in urban parks, forest parks, flowerbeds, squares, etc.
In total, these green areas have approximately 31,000 trees, 578 plant pots and planters, 45 children’s areas, three fitness areas and six canine recreation areas, five of which are newly built. In addition to the dog area in Park of “Esperanza”, the areas of Robinson Park, Zafra Park, Park of “Olivos”, Antonio Machado Park and Stadium Square were opened in 2016.
Of all the parks and green areas in Huelva, Moret Park is the most important due to its size and acts as the lungs of the city. This park is surrounded by the avenues of Santa Marta, Manuel Siurot and De la Cinta, each of which has an entrance.
Sustainable mobility is an alternative model that reduces the detrimental aspects of traditional mobility, such as the car-based urban transport model.
Sustainable mobility aims to implement responsible practices, such as walking or cycling, using public transport, car sharing or promoting new alternative technologies to the use of fossil fuels, such as electric cars.
To see the Sustainable Mobility Plan for the city of Huelva click here.
The port, industry, education and tourism as drivers of the city’s economic and social development.
The port, industry, education and tourism as drivers of the city’s economic and social development.
In recent years, the Huelva Port Authority has been successfully managing the diversification, projection and expansion of the port, with works such as the South Quay, which allows it to be prepared for the location of a fruit and passenger terminal, as well as a container terminal.
Several projects in Spain, in conjunction with the Intemodal Platform of the Port of Huelva, have been selected by the European Commission for the second call of the “Connecting Europe” financial mechanism. These funds are dedicated to the financing of transport infrastructure such as the Mediterranean and Atlantic corridors.
Many projects are being carried out in Huelva Port, positioning itself as an outlet for Spanish fruit and vegetable exports. The Port Authorities are also working in the tourism sector, managing the arrival of ships with a high number of passengers that dock in our port.
For its part, the industrial sector has an important relevance in Huelva, and since the 1960s it has been one of the main factors in the city’s economic development. Huelva’s industry must participate and cooperate in joint projects between the different industrial companies, in addition to contributing together with the University to develop R&D&I programmes that allow for the creation of new jobs and greater integration with citizens.
In its sustainable development strategy, Huelva City Council is committed to a more educated citizenry, respectful of its city and its fellow citizens, with a critical attitude and highly involved in municipal activity. The aim is to turn Huelva into a modern European city by acting from the base, which is its inhabitants.
In this way, work is carried out on projects for education, participation and raising citizens’ awareness of their city. With actions aimed at enabling citizens to enjoy their city through culture, sport, gastronomy, and to get involved in the daily improvement of Huelva.
For its part, the City Council is implementing strategies to make Huelva a city that fights against pollution, managing to integrate its intense industrial activity with respect for the environment. In order to achieve this, it is getting involved in coordination actions with companies, as well as in making the city greener and healthier, improving its parks and providing new green places for the enjoyment of citizens, making them more involved in healthy activities.
We want citizens to feel proud to be from Huelva. There is no better ambassador for a city than its own citizens. Now more than ever, the city of Huelva must make clear the value that its history and orography have given it.
