The 1st Doctor Music Festival was held on 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th July 1996 in Escalarre (Valls d’Àneu). The environmental data collected after the festival include the following:

Location: Sta. Maria d’Àneu (Escalarre, municipality of La Guingueta; region: Pallars Sobirà)

Altitude: Between 900 and 960 metres above sea level. Surrounded by hills and peaks over 2,000 metres high.

Land occupied: Crop fields, on old inactive fluvio-glacial drifts, on the left bank of the river Noguera Pallaresa (Festival and camping area) and fluvial fields, on the right bank of the river (parking area).

Attendance: 25,000 visitors + 1,800 people from the organisation, press and artists.

Classification of the area: Country (farm) land

Remarkable species in the surrounding area: Bearded vultures, Deer, Roe deer, Ibex and Bear. None of these species was affected by the festival since their natural habitat in summer is far enough away from the low parts of the valleys, as they move to the mountains.

Solid waste generated:

- 510,000 paraffin-coated cardboard cups and 90,000 polystyrene cups (removed from the Festival once informed of the error)

- 140 tons of  rubbish, taken to a supervised dump (except glass, batteries, paper, cardboard and tins which were mainly recycled)

Liquid waste:

- 100,000 litres of sewage and contaminated water, taken to the Terrassa purification plant.

- 2,000,000 litres from showers and laundry areas; on-site purification and infiltration.

- 200 litres of oil, recycled by a specialist company.

SITUATION OF THE FESTIVAL AREA AFTER THE DOCTOR MUSIC FESTIVAL ’96

- The irrigation ditches and stone wall in the fields damaged during the Festival were completely repaired.

- The pastures recovered satisfactorily, without the need to re-sow the most worn areas.

- All organic and plastic material rubbish and refuse of other sorts produced during the Festival was cleaned completely.

- All the infrastructure and appliances were removed and the land was returned to its original state as grazing land for cattle.

- The most sensitive surrounding areas, or protected species, were not affected (by way of an anecdote, a few weeks after the Festival the Giva bear crossed the fields of Sta. Maria d’Àneu).

- The water of the river Noguera and its tributaries was not affected (conclusive analytical results)

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION MEASURES ADOPTED FOR THE DOCTOR MUSIC FESTIVAL ‘97

- Increase in the number of wastepaper baskets and waste-collection containers.

- Selective collections of tins, plastics, paper, organic products and batteries.

- In al the bars at the festival, drinks will be served in recyclable cardboard cups or a special eco-friendly, unbreakable and shatter-proof plastic. Thus, the number of containers will be reduced considerably and the selective collection and cleaning will be made easier.

- Fencing of the two banks of the river Noguera Pallaresa and other sensitive areas.

- Supervision of sensitive areas: on-site analysis of treated sewage and of the water of the river Noguera Pallares.

- Preparation of environmental behaviour regulations to be distributed to workers, suppliers, authorised dealers and the public.

- Brief and temporary occupation of the land in order to ensure that the fields can be used as much as possible for cattle-breeding and can recover fully once the festival has been dismantled.