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Collserola and sections of the Llobregat will remain restricted this summer
Access to Collserola and several sections around the Llobregat will remain restricted during the summer. The Generalitat has informed the 19 affected municipalities that it is maintaining the restrictions due to African swine fever, despite neighbourhood protests and requests for partial reopening.
The decision directly affects those who use these spaces to walk, run, cycle or switch off near Barcelona. Collserola functions as one of the metropolitan area's great green lungs, and its closure weighs especially heavily now that heat, long weekends and the desire to seek shade away from the asphalt are arriving.
The Govern maintains that the priority remains containing the outbreak among wild boar. The emergence of new positive cases in the high-risk area complicates any immediate easing and reinforces the idea of maintaining the restrictions, at least until the end of summer.
The Agriculture Minister, Òscar Ordeig, conveyed the decision to municipal representatives from Baix Llobregat and Vallès. Town councils called for more communication and asked for occasional access to be opened for health, wellbeing and everyday use of the natural environment, but the Generalitat has not yet set a specific reopening date.
Local pressure has been growing for weeks. Sant Cugat has requested a partial reopening, Molins de Rei and other Llobregat municipalities are calling to be able to regain at least access to the river, and signature collections to reopen Collserola already total thousands of supporters.
The closure, moreover, is not always observed on the ground. Walkers, cyclists and runners have been seen on some Llobregat paths despite the restrictions, an image that reflects both neighbourhood fatigue and the difficulty of controlling natural spaces that are so extensive and connected to the daily life of the municipalities.
For the Generalitat, however, easing up too soon could put health control at risk. African swine fever does not affect people, but it can have serious consequences for wildlife, the pork sector and exports if the outbreak spreads.
The debate goes beyond a temporary ban. Collserola and Llobregat are spaces for health, sport and rest for thousands of residents. Keeping them closed helps contain an animal health crisis, but it also makes clear how much the city depends on its natural spaces when summer arrives.