Javea Grapevine Issue 173 - 2015 | Page 16

| Jávea Grapevine No.173 2015 News From Agenda 21 Compiled by Christine Betterton - Jones Follow Agenda 21 on agenda21-xabia.wikidot.com Amjasa plans to diversify After finishing the year with €2million in profits, the municipal water company, AMJASA aims to initiate new lines of business covered by its articles of Association. The Council, together with a small group of collaborators, has produced 4proposals to double the turnover of the company: managing public moorings in the port, a bus service, running an environmental centre at the San Antoni Lighthouse and marketing bottl ed water. This, after assessing that there are no sports or activities to support. From XAD: Amjasa .... Xàbia starts replanting indigenous trees in fire affected area Xàbia Town Hall staff have started to plant indegenous species such as wild olive and kermes oak in areas affected by last September’s wild fire. They have also put up signs asking people to keep away from some areas so that natural regeneration can take place. Burned woodland near the picnic area has been removed and it is now possible to see right accross to the Torre de Gerro and Valencia coast, a view which was previously obscured by the lush pine forest. The owners of private land upon which the ruins of the Ermita de San Antoni and a viewing area is located have put up their own sign asking for people to stick to the paths and thus help natural regeneration. From XAD: Inician.. Move to make the Marine Reserve of the Cap de San Antoni a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Denia Town Hall has strated moves to have the Marine Reserve of the Cap de San Antoni declared as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. They will need suppoert from Xàbia, the Valencia Generalitat, the Denia Marina and the Central Government before the request can be subitted to UNESCO. The function of these reserves is to preserve and protect biodiversity, as well as the economic and human development of these areas, research, education and the exchange of information among the more than 620 reserves in 117 countries that make up the global network. Las Provincias Spain - A great place to live, a terrible place to work? Spaniards sleep fewer hours and work longer days than their European neighbors, but are less productive. At the same time Spain fails to attract overseas talent, while tens of thousands of well-educated Spanish youngsters are heading abroad in search of work. The country also has one of the EU’s highest school drop-out rates and a work culture hostile to the needs of families with young children. Meanwhile, its birth rate is fast approaching negative as its population ages…. Jaime Malet, head of the US-Spanish Chamber of Commerce, accepts that among the problems Spain faces are widespread nepotism, absenteeism, and fewer incentives to improve productivity, along with a refusal to recognize and reward talent. For full story see: El Pai’s in English Record year for foreign tourists Between January and November this year, more than 61.7 million international tourists visited Spain. That figure is higher than the total for all of 2013, 60.65 million, which is to say that with a month of it still to go, 2014 has already been a record year for tourist visits to the country. The country broke the 60-million barrier for the first time last year – a figure that looked like it would be difficult to beat, given that it was partly due to the weakness of other tourist markets, such as Egypt, which was the victim of political instability during the year. The United Kingdom continues to be the main source of tourist visits to Spain, accounting for a quarter of the total. For full story see: El Pais in English Benefactors A Norwegian family, resident in Xàbia, has donated €1000 to the Town’s Social Services Department through the Association of Women Entrepreneurs (MEJ) to help support a single parent family. The benefactors have made a number of donations over the past few months totalling €4000, asking only that the money is used to support women who have been suffering ill-treatment or a difficult separation. From XAD: Una familia Noruega...