The diverse mountainous and river environments propitiate a great variety of habitats. We find from important clusters of Mediterranean forest in good condition to remarkable riverside forests. There are many aquatic faunistic species of great interest, accompanied by birds, mammals and other vertebrates of special relevance, some of them scarce in the Valencian Community. It is a space with an exceptional landscape and remarkable ecological and geomorphological values.

There are also architectural elements of great historical value linked to the landscape, such as the engineering legacy that left the railroad (bridges, mounts and tunnels), Perputxent castle, mills of the late nineteenth century, azudes and small hydroelectric plants .

This historical interaction between the natural physical environment and human activity throughout the centuries, characterizes the landscape and the area of ​​influence that is now protected in order to ensure its conservation and rational management. The protected space management system advocates the sustainable use of the natural resources of the Serpis River and its associated landscape, whose conservation criteria will be fixed by the wording of the corresponding Governing Plan for use and management that involves the Declaration of the Protected Landscape of the approved Serpis April 13, 2007.

The Serra de Benicadell is a space used since prehistoric times as a habitat of human groups, which found in their caves and slopes a place of refuge and hunting. The most important prehistoric site in the area is the Cave of Gold (Beniarrés), from the Lower Neolithic (6,000 BC), a worldwide reference point due to the importance of localized materials that marked the fate of a new era: the birth of agriculture in the western Mediterranean. Other outstanding sites are the Cova del Moro (Muro), the Cueva Negra (Gaianes) and the Sercat (Gaianes), populated in the second millennium BC. The Islamic culture also left its mark in the mountains, highlighting the settlement of Alto de la Nevera (Gaianes), where it is believed that in the year 1092 the Cid fortified a castle of Arab origin existing on top of “Peña Cadiella” – as the Cantar del Mío Cid refers to. In Benicadell, there are also several snowcups.

Already in the sixteenth century, the demographic pressure forced the abolition of its slopes to hardly imaginable levels, which were combined with other traditional uses of the mountain range, such as logging, logging and beekeeping.

On the other hand, Benicadell is a classic of mountaineering and environmental education, being the referent of many climbers who find in it the fascination of the great mountains, with its long, rocky facade and crenellated by a sharp, slender crest, and enriched for places of deep social and cultural significance.

In short, the Solana del Benicadell is a landscape in whose shape has much to do with human action throughout history, which has created new and diverse environments.

Based on considerations in all aspects to the previous ones, the northern slope of this mountain range, located in the province of Valencia, was declared a Landscape Protected by the Consell de la Generalitat, under the name “Ombria del Benicadell”. The Protected Landscape of the Solana del Benicadell completes the protection of the mountain massif on the slope included in the province of Alicante, which is why both protection initiatives are complementary and mutually reinforcing.

Since 16 January 2007, Beniarrés has its first protected space. It is the Micro flora reserve of l’Alt de Senabre, which includes the public lands of Fantaquí, cova dels nou forats and corralets de l’Encantà. In only 5,61 hectares have been registered more than 250 species, which can give an idea of ​​the biodiversity that treasures the place. Among the protected flora are endemic species, exclusive, rare and / or threatened, which is why the Regional Ministry, based on the botanical report drafted for this purpose, has accepted the request of the Medi Ambient of our city council as to the convenience of protecting this natural space.

This recognition involves the implementation of a management plan for the micro-reserve, which includes signaling its limits, the establishment of information posters, the adaptation of a path, the reintroduction and / or reinforcement of certain tree species, among others , the holm oak, the arbutus or the ash tree, as well as the creation of a seed bank.

The state-owned Beniarrés reservoir began its construction in the 40’s with the aim of watering the orchards and, fundamentally, the existing orange groves in the Safor region. It has a dam of gravity of 53 meters of height and a sheet of water of 260 hectares, that allows him to embalm until 31 Hm3. The spillway, with flood gates, allows to drain up to 1000 m3 per second.

Upstream of the reservoir, the strong population and industrial settlement (textile and paper mills) causes high levels of pollution in its waters and sediments, so the reservoir has very high levels of eutrophication, anoxia (absence of oxygen) and even acid fumes in the summer. It is estimated that 80% of the flow that reaches the reservoir comes from upstream wastewater treatment plants, and although there is a water purification plan, it seems that this does not show how effective it would be expected. For this reason, the Hydrographic Confederation of the Júcar (CHJ) has repeatedly requested an Environmental Audit of its waters and sediments, as well as to prepare a Program of actions with the aim of achieving, within the term, the objectives that Directive 2000/60 / EC on the quality of water resources.

The natural environment, however, is very pleasing to the eye, a reason that reinforces the conviction that the area of ​​influence of the reservoir has an enormous potential tourism and sports. We are confident that CHJ will become aware of the risks to public and environmental health of the contamination levels achieved and assume its responsibilities with the speed and diligence that would be desirable from an environment ministry. From the Tourist and Medi Ambient Council of Beniarrés City Council there is a firm commitment to demand that it be so.