The municipalities of the Montgrí Natural Park, the Medes Islands and Baix Ter explore local development opportunities linked to the park in a technical conference at the Can Quintana Auditorium

The Auditorium of Can Quintana in Torroella de Montgrí hosted the Technical Conference ‘Natural Spaces and Local Development’ . A conference that served to explain the opportunities that the Protected Natural Space of Montgrí, the Medes Islands and the Baix Ter has and how the conservation of the territory can be made compatible with economic development that improves employment, creates business opportunities, fixes and captures new population and attracts tourism.

Within the framework of this conference, with the participation of the 8 municipalities that make up the park, the strategic local development project of the Natural Park region and its link with the Action Plan of the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism was presented.

Exploring a new model of local development

The Mayor of Torroella de Montgrí, Jordi Colomí , opened the day by highlighting the diversity of the municipalities in the park and ensuring that they are all necessary and complementary for the development of the region. The mayor indicated the importance of the smaller towns feeling involved in the project.

The President of the Montgrí, Medes Islands and Baix Ter Natural Park , Marc Casadellà , has warned that Baix Empordà is currently one of the poorest regions in Catalonia and that the model that allowed economic growth in the 70s and 80s based on mass tourism, construction and sun and beach is over and will not return. In this sense, he has stated that the economic future of the region goes through values ​​such as identity, nature and sustainability. Values ​​linked to the Natural Park. “The park is an opportunity to build less and rehabilitate more, recover crops, abandon the oligopoly energy macroparks and do distributed generation, stop planting palm trees and tamarisks and consume local produce”, he specified.

A plan with five strategic lines

The central element of the day was the presentation of the Local Development Plan, by the coordinating technician Carme Sanchiz , which will be implemented over the next three years. A plan that consists of five strategic lines with two programs each and different actions that aim to generate a sustainable development model and unite the territory. The plan will be developed in accordance with a previous diagnosis that was commissioned to the company Activa Prospect and that has identified shortcomings and opportunities in four strategic sectors such as tourism, commerce, the agri-food sector and sports activities in the natural environment. From here, projects will be identified that will help the Natural Park become an instrument for the development of the territory.

Inspiring national and international experiences

Beyond presenting the local development plan linked to the Park, the Conference has served to explain national and international good practices that can serve as a precedent and inspiration for developing projects in Baix Ter. The expert in tourism and local development Josep Capellà has spoken about the French Camargue, the French Luberon or the Italian Cinque Terre, among other examples. More recent experiences have also been presented such as that of Turisme Garrotxa or El Parc a Taula of the Network of Natural Parks of the Barcelona Provincial Council. In addition to these explanations, a more specific project linked to the territory such as the Montgrí oil project has been discussed.

The renewal of the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism

All of this is closely linked to the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism, an initiative of the Europarc Federation that promotes tourism in protected areas in terms of sustainability and certifies it through principles and a method that must be followed by the different actors involved in tourism. The director of the Montgrí, Medes Islands and Baix Ter Natural Park, Ramon Alturo , has explained the CETS strategy linked to the Montgrí, Medes Islands and Baix Ter Natural Park. A strategy that aims to turn the park into a catalyst for socio-economic development for the eight municipalities that make up it.

The day was closed by the Director General of Environmental Policies and the Natural Environment of the Generalitat, Marc Vilahur , who said that it is necessary to work for a social development that respects, preserves and promotes biodiversity. According to the high-ranking Government official, Natural Parks should not only be management bodies of a protected area but also a space for socio-economic development where human activity is not only not counterproductive but is essential for the protection of protected areas. Vilahur said that the Natural Heritage Fund will help develop projects that can allow this conservation of spaces.

European Day of Natural Parks

This event was held as part of the celebration of the European Parks Day , held this week. A day that commemorates the declaration of the first European national parks in Sweden on May 24. The organization’s intention is that this event can be repeated every year to discuss how Protected Natural Areas can become an instrument of local development for the population that lives there and to explain the cases of good practices from other places that have served as inspiration for the strategic plan of the Montgrí les Illes Medes i el Baix Ter Natural Park.