The City of Totana will carry out this year an acknowledgment of the important environmental work of Ricardo Codorniu, giving his name to a place, street or significant building in this town;
and completing a plenary agreement of the end of the previous legislature.
Both the Consistory totanero and the Autonomous Community are promoting the declaration of the territory of Sierra Espuña with the qualification of National Park, which would imply its incorporation into the Network of National Parks.
In a historical context in which the environmental issue has come to the forefront due to multiple factors such as scientific evidence on climate change, deforestation, the reduction of water sources or habitat degradation, the fact that Sierra Espuña achieved This statement should be an achievement for the quality of life of the inhabitants of neighboring municipalities.
Similarly, this declaration would allow a possibility to diversify the possibilities of economic and social prosperity, always from the framework of environmental sustainability.
In a municipality like Totana, which owes so much, enjoys and links with Sierra Espuña, it has so far no recognition of the figure of the one who was director of the restoration and reforestation work of Sierra Espuña at the end of the 19th century, the engineer by Montes Ricardo Codorniu and Stárico.
Ricardo Codorniu, was born in Cartagena in 1846, and among his most outstanding works can be mentioned, the complete reforestation of Sierra Espuña, work that began in 1889, as well as the restoration of the Pine Forest of Guardamar del Segura, work that was carried out as a method to contain the unstoppable progress of the dunes that threatened the town.
Among his people he was known as "the old Cartagena" for his dedication to the environment and his defense of the forests would go down in history as the "Apostle of the tree."
His thinking can be framed within the regenerationist movement that spread in Spain in the late nineteenth century.
As an added fact, it must be stressed that he was the maternal grandfather of another important engineer: Juan de la Cierva y Codorniu, (1895-1936), inventor of the autogyro.
