Management and Restoration of Camí de Cavalls

The project

Camí de Cavalls is a historic trail that goes around the island of Menorca. It was constructed for military purposes during the French rule. As time passed, the route was gradually lost due to urban growth along the coast and some private estates preventing access to it.

The Camí de Cavalls route, GR-223, follows most of Menorca’s coastal perimeter and crosses almost all the ecosystems present on the island, which abound with abiotic and biotic factors.

As Camí de Cavalls is now used to enjoy the natural environment for recreational purposes, it has been impacted by erosion in several places in recent years.

The document “Plan for management and restoration measures of Camí de Cavalls” contains the study to identify points of erosion along Camí de Cavalls. The study was conducted by QU4TRE, an environmental consultancy, and Axial Geologia I Medi Ambient, and commissioned by the Ministry of Transport of the Island Council of Menorca.

The study was needed to determine the points of erosion associated with Camí de Cavalls and to propose soft management and restoration measures.

The plan for management and restoration measures of Camí de Cavalls divides the trail into 19 sections for analysis and identifies the points impacted by erosion processes.

The study presents the analysis and diagnosis results based on all the information compiled in the field campaigns that took place in the summer of 2016. The result is the document that forms the basis for applying management and restoration measures to mitigate the erosion processes detected along the analysed section.

The proposed measures, which use traditional techniques, to act against the source of the erosion process at high-priority points are:

Stone steps around 2 m wide on average. This measure also includes a proportional part of small stone retaining walls, placed on the side of the trail where the steps are located, which has slopes.

Water channels made of stone to take away surface water.

Levelling and redistributing soil. This item is associated with both the stone steps and the water channels and will only be used where there are gullies.

Cordoning off the trail using posts with rope.

Using local stone to provide a surface for the trail that is around 2 m wide on average.