Adaptaclima

Rural development programmes managed by local action groups, have more than shown their usefulness in promoting development in rural areas, bearing in mind the multi-sectorial needs of the local population.

The Development Association Valle del Alagón (ADESVAL) contemplates, thanks to its Local Development Programme, a special priority towards the environment and action related to its conservation. The local action group has worked in recent years on specific projects related to this issue, in collaboration with other national and European groups and entities.

ADAPTACLIMA II is a SUDOE territorial cooperation project co-financed by the Community Initiative INTERREG IV B. It springs from its forerunner, ADAPTACLIMA, like other projects co-financed by the south-western European zone in previous calls. The main beneficiary is the Association of Sustainable Municipalities of Cantabria. Apart from the Association of Municipalities and ADESVAL another eight beneficiaries also participate: as Spanish partners, the Government of Andalucia, the Iberian Association of Waterfront Municipalities of the Douro (AIMRD), the Government of Galicia and Neiker (Basque Institute of Agricultural Research and Development); as French partners, the Climatological Association of Moyenne-Garonne and of the South-west (ACMG) and the Dordogne Chamber of Agriculture; as Portuguese partners, the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro (UTAD), and lastly, to mention Bodegas Faustino as associate partners.

The Project arises from the need to capitalize on the studies, analyses, conclusions and recommendations of ADAPTACLIMA I. This capitalization is established as being very important so that the work already carried out can be used and appreciated in the different territories. The capitalization will be understood as being synonymous of “specific action taken on the basis of the studies and recommendations of the scientific community”.

By participating in ADAPTACLIMA II, ADESVAL continues its strong commitment to material that fights climate change, given that the results gained in previous stages can be tremendously useful for local development in the Alagón Valley. Right now, it is a question of moving from theory to practice by applying the affirmative-action measures in the associate territories. The project intends to become the reference in the south-western European zone at climate change level, being fundamental in information and sensitization for all of society and a guidance and assessment tool for the European political and economic sphere.

ADESVAL leads one of the training and awareness-raising activities together with the Government of Galicia. During the course of this action, the present product was put together in the form of A Guide to Good Practice for training and raising awareness in Children about Climate Change, the aims of which are to make the school-age population aware of the problems of climate change and adaptations to it, it being an educational and entertaining product which is useful for pupils to work on the overlying topic of Climate Change. The fact that it is presented translated into the four official languages of south-western Europe (Spanish, Portuguese, French and English), will enable the product, which will be available from the moment it is published, to be used in any school.

The Guide to Good Practice slots perfectly into the project, as it is a durable product, available both in hard and digital format, and what is more, with possibilities of new contents being introduced in the future. This way we avoid the product becoming out-dated on the project finishing, allowing for a durability which contributes to making the school population aware of the problematic nature of climate change.

From the local action group, we hope that it reaches the highest number of schoolchildren possible in any of these countries, and that it has the repercussions that such a highly topical subject as climate change deserves.

firma

Óscar Alcón Granado

ADESVAL President