The NICOLE.org forum is an organization that brings together leading public, academic, technical and private experts in the revitalization of degraded sites and from which high-impact urban initiatives for the integral development of cities are promoted.
Ranked as a leading forum for sustainable industrial land management, NICOLE (Network for Industrially Contaminated Land in Europe) selected Las Salinas to present at the forum “Successful Revitalization of Sites with Strategic and Heritage Value: Governance, Risk Mitigation and Circular Solutions”, which took place November 21-22 in Bilbao, Spain. For the occasion, Las Salinas was selected among more than 40 global initiatives to present the bioremediation and urban regeneration project being developed in Viña del Mar.
NICOLE is an international organization that brings together public, academic, technical and private experts from around the world to discuss best practices and advances in the revitalization and bioremediation of historic industrial sites, with a focus on risk mitigation and circular solutions in environmental remediation.
In relation to the invitation, Ricardo Labarca, General Manager of Las Salinas commented that having been selected to exhibit in Bilbao, “is a significant recognition that reaffirms the excellence with which we have been working and executing the environmental sanitation and urban regeneration project in Viña del Mar. To be participating today in an internationally renowned event and to be part of the group of companies and public entities exhibiting their projects is a recognition of the high standard and excellence with which we are working and serves to project all the potential of the site to reinvent itself and become a space that promotes innovation and social, cultural and economic growth in the area”.
About the experience, Stephanie Rotella, Environmental Manager of Las Salinas, commented that the forum is recognized for being at the forefront of environmental issues, with a focus on the recovery and reconversion of areas that have had an industrial past. “Having the opportunity to be in Bilbao, one of the most thriving areas in northern Spain thanks to the public-private collaboration that has made it possible to work on master plans for cities in areas such as the Nervión estuary or Zorrotzaure, is significant because it shows that it makes perfect sense to work on cleaning up a space, regenerating it and then giving way to multi-use urban projects that provide a new opportunity for cities and especially for their communities,” said Rotella.
The Nicole.org forum has a broad program with key topics such as innovation with nature-based solutions for land rehabilitation, the role of governance in the transformation of spaces with an industrial past, which are destined to find new future uses to be a contribution to cities and communities.
The program of the opening activity of Nicole.org featured a presentation by Asier Abanzua, Delegate Councilor for Works, Urban Planning and Strategic Projects at the Bilbao City Council since 2007, on “Industrial and anthropized land, an opportunity for the transformation of cities”; and then by Ana Alzola, Head of the Euskadi Land Protection Strategy, with a degree in science, specializing in chemistry from the University of the Basque Country, on “The reuse of vacant land: a key line of action for the Euskadi Land Protection Strategy 2030”.
After these interventions, in the second block, the general manager of Las Salinas, Ricardo Labarca, gave a complete presentation on the sanitation project and the urban regeneration project in front of the Viña del Mar waterfront, which was received with great enthusiasm and interest by the attendees.
