The Department of Territory, Housing and Ecological Transition and CREAF participated this past September in a meeting of the European project MountResilience in Finland, an initiative that seeks to strengthen the capacity to adapt to climate change in mountain regions by sharing knowledge. With the aim of incorporating innovative and nature-based solutions, CREAF and the Generalitat de Catalunya participate in these meetings in order to take ideas and examples and align them with the Pyrenees Strategy and the future Observatory of the High Mountains of Catalonia.
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Cooperation between mountain regions
MountResilience, funded by the Horizon Europe programme (2023-2028), works with six pilot regions - such as Lapland, Tyrol and Piedmont - that are developing concrete experiences of adaptation to climate change, such as pilot tests of water management, mountain farming, sustainable tourism and traditional livestock farming. Based on their results, the so-called replicating regions - including Catalonia - can design their own plans to apply in their territory. In addition, the project also supports an inclusive and participatory governance approach that combines scientific knowledge, local actors and public institutions.
Despite the enormous economic, social and environmental differences with Lapland, this pilot shows us how a key economic sector can be supported to survive in a changing climate context. The participatory process they are following, rather than the final results, can help us deploy the actions of the Pyrenees Strategy, with key axes in Catalonia such as tourism and pastoralism.
"Despite the enormous economic, social and environmental differences with Lapland, this pilot shows us how a key economic sector can be supported to survive in a changing climate context. The participatory process they are following, more than the final results, can help us deploy the actions of the Pyrenees Strategy, with key axes in Catalonia such as tourism and pastoralism," says Bernat Claramunt, CREAF researcher and scientific advisor to the Generalitat on this issue.
The adaptation of the Lapland tourism sector to the effects of climate change is one of the examples that has generated the most interest. Various Finnish MountResilience partners, through coaching and direct support actions, support traditional tourism companies in the territory to reinvent themselves and adapt to new climatic conditions. Their offer, based on snow and icy conditions, is being increasingly displaced further north, which is why they have to offer alternative packages in other areas to maintain the attractiveness of the experience.
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"We are not only collecting ideas, but we will develop a mature plan adapted to our priorities. This will allow us to be prepared for when funding becomes available and ensure a real and sustained impact on the territory," adds Claramunt.
On the other hand, pastoralism is also being affected by climate change, as it causes trees to move north in Lapland, areas where previously only pastures survived. This causes semi-wild reindeer herds to move even further north to continue grazing. In this new context, the work of herders becomes more difficult, profits are already decreasing and many are forced to offer services to tourists.
Meeting of the European project MountResilience in Finland with the participation of the Department of Territory, Housing and Ecological Transition and CREAF. Image: Mariona Kirchner and Bernat Claramunt
Through the knowledge and experiences raised in MountResilience , the Department of Territory, Housing and Ecological Transition and CREAF work together to nourish the Pyrenees Strategy project and the High Mountain Observatory with new actions that, focused on the Catalan territory and its casuistries, serve to adapt and prevent the effects of climate change to the reality of the inhabitants of the Pyrenees.
