- During the sixth coordination meeting of the initiative, held in Paredes de Coura, representatives of the Instituto de Estudos do Territorio presented the latest advances in the design of the future Plan transfronteirizo da paisaxe para o Baixo Miño.
- Galicia and Portugal continue to advance in the development of a total of seven pilot projects for the promotion of green infrastructures at local level within the framework of the Green Gap cross-border initiative, promoted in 2023 and in which the Instituto de Estudos do Territorio (IET), under the Consellería de Medio Ambiente e Cambio Climático (Regional Ministry of Environment and Climate Change) plays the role of coordinator.
The Municipal Chamber of Paredes de Coura organized last month the sixth coordination meeting of the project to gather in this Portuguese city the partners of both regions and to share the status of the different actions that are being carried out according to the candidacy. Several agreements were also adopted for the coming months, particularly regarding the technical projects that will serve as the basis for the pilot actions to be carried out in both territories.
During the meeting, the representatives of the IET explained the latest advances in the development of the Plan transfronteirizo da paisaxe para o Baixo Miño, which will be a shared planning framework between Galicia and Northern Portugal for the enhancement of this unique shared space of high environmental and landscape value and the design of management actions and improvement of the impacts detected to improve its adaptation to climate change.
The other two pilots to be hosted by the Galician community within the framework of the Green Gap will take place in the surroundings of the Cunchas reservoir, in the municipality of Muíños, Ourense, and in a 94-hectare area belonging to the Verducido community of mountains, in Pontevedra, where bands of native vegetation will be created as firebreaks.
Visit to the Taboão river area
The 6th Green Gap working day held in Paredes de Coura also included a visit to the Taboão fluvial area of the Coura River, chosen to host another of the seven planned pilot projects, which allowed attendees to get a closer look at the current problems and proposed solutions for this valuable natural environment.
It should be remembered that the purpose of green infrastructure is to create a network of spaces and elements that improve resilience to climate change, contribute to biodiversity conservation and benefit the surrounding populations.
Thus, the Green Gap project for the Galicia-North Portugal Euroregion aims to help local administrations play a more relevant role in the promotion of green infrastructures in this cross-border area.
To this end, it includes three phases: a first planning phase, a second development and implementation phase, in which the partners are immersed in order to obtain examples of good practices in green infrastructure and resilient landscape, and a third phase for training and capacity building in the field. In addition, it also includes a set of actions for the correct communication and dissemination of the results.
With a budget of more than 2.1 M€, financed within the framework of the Interreg Spain-Portugal Program (POCTEP 2021-2027), the initiative involves, in addition to the IET, a group of local entities, supra-municipal administrations with competences in this area and university entities of the Galicia-North Portugal Euroregion.
On the Galician side, the University of A Coruña, the Pontevedra City Council, the Ourense Provincial Council and the CEER Foundation are involved, while on the Portuguese side, the Paredes de Coura Chamber, the University of Minho, the Guimarães Chamber, the Guimarães Landscape Laboratory, the Portuguese Environment Agency and the Instituto da Conservação da Naturaleza das Florestas are part of the project.
The European project, with a budget of €2.1 million, also includes specific plans for the Cunchas reservoir, in Muíños, and in the Verducido neighborhood forests, in Pontevedra.
