and consultancy, in a broad sense.

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3 VAERSA is a public Spanish company, founded in 1986 by the Regional Government of Valencia for the implementation of all kind of environmental services. Throughout the last 25 years, VAERSA has grown and it has adapted to the new challenges and needs that posed the scenario of global change that we are living and to the new paradigms of sustainability and rural development. Nowadays more than 1000 employees are spread across the territory of Valencia Region in more than 10 offices, and shape a large multidisciplinary team trained for the realization of all kind of services of environmental management, engineering and consultancy, in a broad sense. Although the public administrations keep on being the main customer of the company, currently VAERSA offers it services to public and private companies, both in national and international scope. 3

4 Technical specialists, engineers and researchers deal with the whole cycle of projects of forestry management, land planning, environmental policies, rural developments, landscape management and restoration, rural facilities and infrastructures, environmental risk management, app development through Information and Communication Technologies and so on. 4

5 VAERSA is a company highly committed to ensuring high quality services, with a safe and healthy work environment as well as a strict respect for the environment. This commitment is reflected in the certificates and awards that the company has gained through the years. The enterprise has set in both a quality and environmental policy and an integrated management system, certified under the standards UNE-ENISO 9001:2008, UNE-EN-ISO 14001:2004 y EMAS. Additionally, we count on a management system and a policy of health and safe under the international standard OHSAS 18001:2007. From our experience, VAERSA designs, develops and introduces effective management systems and respectful with the environment in public and private institutions and companies, offering the technical support required. At the same time, guides and advises its clients in the certification process of its own management mechanisms. 5

6 VAERSA is organized in five business areas: Consultancy and projects implementation Public services and institutional strengthening Waste treatment ICT and innovation Certification systems These areas are combined with a structure oriented to multidisciplinary groups coordinated by area specialists. This guarantees the quality of the offered services and its adaptation to the specific customer s needs. 6

7 1 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANCY and PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

8 ENVIRONMENTALCONSULTANCYandPROJECTIMPLEMENTATION A multidisciplinary team of engineers, experts technicians and researchers committed to designing a more sustainable rural areas, richer in opportunities and adapted to the global change scenario VAERSA is the main public institution in charge of designing the territorial and environmental planning of the Valencia Region in both, regional and local scale. From its beginnings, VAERSA has been planning and executing infrastructure projects (routes, irrigations, constructions, and so on) for the rural development as well as sustainable silviculture and environment assessment, starting in the last time, projects for the energy use of forestry biomass and adaptation or mitigation to climate change. The technical office of VAERSA has the most advanced technologies applied to the engineering and consultancy services to achieve its objectives of quality and sustainability. These technologies include specialized software in natural processes simulation (RUSLE, USPED, CLIMATE ) geo-statistics, CAD, web mapping services, databases, Data-Mining and so on. More specifically, VAERSA has an expert team in Geographic Information Systems and photointerpretation of images based on traditional sensors (aerial and satellite images) and more advanced sensors as LIDAR. 8

9 More than 100 professionals integrate a multidisciplinary team of engineers, designers, consultants, landscape architects and other experts that work in different areas connected with the sustainable management of the territory and the land s uses (forestry, agricultural, ). As neded, works have been made from a local and participative approach, with a specialized team for the direction of participative workshops, the interest conciliation, and reaching of consensus. Among all the plans developed by VAERSA, in both, regional and local scope, it can stand out: The Forestry Action Plan of the Valencia Region, which covers hectares of forestry land. With an innovative approach from the ecosystem services, the plan establishes the base of the forestry regional policy for the XXI century, and institutes local tools as the environmental services payments or the sustainable exploitation of the forestry biomass with energy uses. The Landscape Regional Plan, which establishes the criteria and legislation to enhance and protect the landscape resources of the Valencia Region, through an adequate characterization of the Region and the creation of a Net of Green Infrastructure, basically shaped by the areas and land elements of high environmental, cultural and visual value. Forestry Management Project of Local Forest Sierra Negrete. The project includes the planning, management and use of hectares for biomass use employing LIDAR methodology for the measure and characterization of the raw material. 9

10 From this same technical office are drafted several engineering projects for the execution of communication infrastructures, electrification, irrigation, construction, and so on, always in rural locations. All of them are always conceived and supervised following a sustainable and environmental protection perspective. To undertake these tasks, VAERSA has specialized professionals and machinery for the execution of projects of environmental management (landscape restoration, hydrological restoration, forestry and hunting management, biodiversity conservation), infrastructures construction (rural routes, forestry tracks, irrigation pools, pipelines systems, rural areas electrification, creation of artificial reefs) and building (research centers, visitor s centers in natural parks, shelters and rural cottage). In the last years more than km of rural routes and forestry tracks have been designed and supervised, irrigation pools of more than m 3 have been designed and built and more than hectares of forestry land have been sustainable managed. 10

11 2 PUBLIC SERVICES AND INSTITUTIONAL STRENGHTENING

12 2 PUBLIC SERVICES AND INSTITUTIONAL STRENGHTENING We assist public administrations to achieve their objectives of sustainability, quality, and efficiency, giving technical support and trough out the implementation of manage and certification systems One of the main strengths of VAERSA is its capacity and experience to offer services of institutional strengthening and technical assistance to public managers as well as giving public services. VAERSA has provided public services for more than ten years in different environmental issues including management of emergency situations facing natural hazards, within an efficient and innovative perspective. 12

13 Nowadays, VAERSA delivers public services mainly in environmental education, forest fires prevention, flora and fauna sanitary control, management of recreational infrastructures in public areas or biodiversity conservation: VAERSA coordinates and manages the Wildfires Prevention and Surveillance Plan of the Valencia Region. Daily it deploys and coordinates more than 500 professionals that carry out the jobs of surveillance, prevention and detection of forest fires. VAERSA has specialized teams for quick detection, control and treatment of forest pests and diseases. The personnel carry out, inter alia, the sanitary control of the European Network of Forests Damages, Level I, for the Region of Valencia. The teams include field technicians, engineers, and laboratory technicians.. Sanitary control not only includes vegetal species, but also VAERSA arranges veterinary teams that carry out tasks of cattle diseases control to ensure compliance of the applicable European legislation. Regarding to Protected Natural Areas, VAERSA offers both, conservation and maintenance services as well as environmental education and visitors management. Valencia Region has a natural protected areas network with 21 natural parks that receive more than visitors per month. 13

14 Following this service line of public administrations, VAERSA is specialized in giving support to the governments for drawing up new legislation and policies, adapted to the international context, and more specifically, to the European scope. The company offers and aids public managers with technical training, support in the performance of policies and proceedings of environmental assessment, environmental impact or pollution control. In addition, the ICT teams develop proceeds and applications of e-government that facilitate citizen access to public administration services, making easier proceedings, shortening periods and guarantying the quality levels. 14

15 3 WASTE TREATMENT

16 3WASTE TREATMENT Our expertise in urban and special waste management gives an extra value to the environment, designing, implementing and managing integral solutions adapted to the local needs One of the main fields of the company is the treatment of waste, managing 10 treatment plants and dedicating a staff of over 230 employees specializing in the design, implementation and management of facilities, landfill sealing and restoration and, furthermore, to provide technical assistance to the regional administration. VAERSA s experience includes the management of all types of waste (municipal mixed waste, household hazardous waste, WEEE, etc.), covering all stages from the development of waste plans to the design, construction and operation of waste treatment plants, and sealing of dumps and recovery of degraded areas. Moreover, VAERSA is involved in international R & D financed by the European Union, such as the Climate- KIC to achieve greater energy efficiency associated with the facilities of treatment plants and waste recovery, or research in the use and recovery of rare earth elements contained in fluorescent lamps. 16

17 CONSULTANCY AND ENGINEERING VAERSA specialized teams work on drafting different waste plans at regional and supramunicipal level according to European standards. We provide capacity building and institutional strenghening such as training, technical assistance and legislative development to public agencies and institutions. In this sense, VAERSA has designed and maintains an e-government web portal that facilitates citizens access to government services. In addition, our expertise covers drafting and executing engineering projects, commissioned by the regional administration, for the construction of waste plants and for the closing and sealing of unauthorized dumps. MANAGEMENT OF TREATMENT PLANTS VAERSA, has fully qualified technical capability and extensive experience in the waste management, adapting to the sector and territorial planning rules existing in each case. We manage the following facilities: 3 Transfer Stations for mixed waste, located strategically to optimize the transport of the collection trucks to the treatment plants, reducing the service costs of collection. 2 Mechanical- Biological Municipal Treatment Plants, which jointly deal with 182,000 tonnes per year of mixed household waste. In these facilities the recoverable waste fractions (paper/cardboard, glass, plastics, metals) are separated and sent to recyclers. Organic matter is also separated, which is then composted in a biological treatment. Finally, the non-recoverable fraction, the refuse, is used for landfill. 3 Sorting plants for light packaging, in which tonnes of this waste coming from the selective collection (yellow containers) are classified and sent to the recyclers as raw material for new products. ROW MATERIAL TN/AÑO PET PEAD FILM MIXED BRICK FERROUS ALUMINUM

18 1 Facility for recycling the mercury recovered from button cells, mercury lamps and fluorescent tubes. Treatment to release the mercury as vapor, which is then condensed, reaching a purity of 99%. This plant recovers 1,000 kg of mercury, 200,000 kg of glass and 30,000 kg of metal, from bulbs, neon tubes and batteries. We provide services to other Spanish regions, with a capacity around 450 tons/year/shift. 1 treatment and recovery of used refrigerators plant. The plant has a capacity for treating approximately 50,000 units per year, recovering the CFCs using one method, and crushing and processing the different materials for the recyclers in another. IMPLEMENTATION AND MANAGEMENT OF WORKS VAERSA implements for the regional government and for the municipalities or supramunicipalities specific projects in the field of waste management and restoration of contaminated areas, among which are: Construction and management of landfills for the rejection from the MBT. These landfills are according to European standards. The bottom of the landfill is completely waterproofed, and the leachate generated is accumulated in ponds and are managed through waste water treatment plants. The biogas produced is collected by wells and destroyed it completely, thus preventing both odor and greenhouse gases emissions. Once silted up next phase is for sealing and closure of the landfill, as well as environmental monitoring. Sealing and environmental restoration of uncontrolled landfills. VAERSA has carried out the works for sealing and environmental restoration of numerous uncontrolled dumps of the entire region, with special focus on protected areas. Construction of municipal drop-off/recycling centers. VAERSA has designed and built different drop-off centers for the municipalities. These facilities have different containers for different household waste, to offer the citizen the possibility of depositing the waste separately. 18

19 4 ICT and INNOVATION

20 ICT and INNOVATION R+I+i activities constitute the main axis of the company performance. From this approach, VAERSA sets out innovative solutions to the existing problems that allow a higher environmental, economic and social efficiency VAERSA encourages technology and innovation as the strength of the company, raising pioneering solutions to the existing environmental difficulties. The experts in Information and Communication Technologies designs and develops desktop applications, Internet ones and mobile such as Smartphones, to satisfy the customer needs, offering an integral and effective solution. We are specialists in different development environment,.net applications and into the customization of software of different holders such as ArcGIS. 20

21 Our GIS services all afford the visualization, efficient management and decentralized data analysis. VAERSA develops cartographic viewers under OGC standards (WMS, WCS) to the integration into existing spatial data infrastructures (SDI) or developing a customized SDI. We design custom platforms, which combine both alphanumeric database management with cartographic information, letting a quick access and efficient analysis of available data. We offer an integral solution that adapts the technologies to the resolution with specific problems, since the needs customer s assessment and web design, to the implementation and system maintenance. Some examples of these solutions are: Wildfires Management Integrated System (SIGIF): Web platform developed by VAERSA and destined to the management of forest fires risk, including support tools for decision-making process to distribute, daily the surveillance resources, the simulation of wildfire advance. The Biodiversity Data Bank of the Valencia Region, is the biggest regional infrastructure of data of biodiversity, and it has been developed by VAERSA. The system allows both, the decentralized query and on-line of the information content, as well as its update and verification in real time by the scientific teams authorized for it. 21

22 In mobile devices, VAERSA develops applications for Smartphones, Tablets, PDAs and so on, in the main software s and existing market languages, their maintenance and update and the management of them in Android Market and App Store. Those applications take advantage of the new functions that Smartphones give such as data capture, query and edition in real time, synchronization with servers, information encryption, and users control. The UBIFOC system developed by Tablets, for the accurate and semiautomatic positioning of forest fires, is operative in the fixed surveillance net of the Valencia Region, one of the most with high incidence of wildfires in Mediterranean Europe. In relation with the research activity, VAERSA is committed with the searching with new technologies and solutions. It is involved in international projects of Development and Research funded by the European Union, for improving the predictions of forest fires risk, it has developed appropriate technologies for the accurate and semiautomatic position of seat of fire or other punctual event in the entire territory. At the same time, VAERSA has researchers in new strategies of integrated fight against forest diseases and pests, in the investigation of the use and valorization of the rare earth content in the fluorescents bulbs or the energy valorization of wastes. 22

23 5 CERTIFICATION

24 CERTIFICATION VAERSA has a consultancy team that provides services in certification issues of the management quality, environmental management, safe and healthy or energy efficiency. Within those activities, underscore: Design and develop of management systems as UNE-EN-ISO 9001:2008, UNE-EN-ISO 14001, Balanced Scorecard (BSC) and standards EFQM. Design and develop of management system according to the European systema Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS), UNE-ISO and UNE :2008. Establishment of forestry certification systems, agree with the standards of the Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC). 24

25 At the same time, VAERSA support the municipalities with the development and implementation of sustainable mobility Plans, Local Agenda 21, Touristic Plans. Among others, it has been implemented the Local Agenda 21 of Valencia city and Castellón City, with around and habitants, respectively. 25

26 International Development The main scope for action of VAERSA is Spain, nevertheless, since several years ago, it works joining international consortiums, in projects funded by some European Programmes. VAERSA has a large experience preparing proposals for European projects; search of partnerships, as well as in the management of those sorts of projects. Some programmes where VAERSA has been involved are: Intelligent Energy Europe (IEE), LIFE+ (LIFE05/NAT/E/000060, LIFE09 NAT/ES/000529), MED (QUALIGOUV and PROFORBIOMED projects), GRUNDTVIG (Peri Urban Forests Education Network Project), ENPI CBCMED (GOFOPMED Project). Besides this, VAERSA also play a part as a partner in ClimateKIC project, one of the three Knowledge and Innovation Community created in 2010 by the Innovation and Technology European Institute (ITE). Climate-KIC supports the aim of climate change mitigation and adaptation, in where VAERSA includes own experts to the different platforms in which Climate-KIC is divided, and takes part of the consortiums of innovative projects. Apart from that, VAERSA carries out collaborations with international institutions such as World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank as well as Institutes or Research Centers in other continents. 26

27 VAERSA Unit of International Development Javier de Vicente López HEAD OF UNIT Tel Mov Fax skype: javier.de.vicente1 Raquel Moreno Martín PROJECT MANAGER Tel Mov Fax skype: r.moreno.martin 27

28 SEDE CENTRAL VALENCIA Mariano Cuber, Valencia España Tel Fax