Strengthening Local Governance and its impact on Sustainable Mountain Development

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Strengthening Local Governance and its impact on
Sustainable Mountain Development

• Drew McFarlane-Slack Euromontana

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Mountain delimitation

• 41 of the European territory
• 20 of its population
• 27 of its municipalities (33 865 out of 125 681)

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What is Euromontana?

• An evolving network in the EU and the Eastern
  countries 60 national or regional organisations
• A multisectoral networkdevelopment agencies,
  regional and local authorities, environmental
  agencies, agricultural organisations, research
  institutes
• to exchange information with institutions/networks
  
• to coordinate cross-boundary projects
• to contribute to better expertise on mountain
  development
• A small office based in Lombardia House in
  Brussels supported by 12 working Board members

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Our General Activities

• Information
• Policy watch
• Consultation
• Projects
• FAO - SARD-M
• Interreg and Interact

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Recent issues

• State aids
• The positive externalities of mountain farming
  and land management
• Recognition of the added value of mountain
  products, particularly food products

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Scottish Perspectives
Highlands and Islands Population 274,000 on the
edge of Europe Mountain and Island community
cohesion
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Scottish Perspectives
Community Planning Spatial Planning Regeneration E
uropean connectivity
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Specific Scottish experiences 1
Kinlochleven 100 years of Aluminium
production Closed in 2000 Employment Rebirth as a
centre for outdoor activity as part of the brand
The Outdoor Capital of the UK
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Specific Scottish experiences 2
Sunart Atlantic Oakwoods Manage and regenerate
14,000ha of ancient coastal woodland
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The Highlands of Scotland and Podcarpacie Region,
Poland - 2006
Migrant workers
Woodland management Renewable energy (biomass)
Research- UHI/ Universities of Rzeszov/
Zilnia Student accommodation
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Fire Services in the Highlands and Islands of
Scotland

• Largest volunteer fire service in Europe- 1500
  members.
• All contracted, 1200 p/t fully trained and
  equipped.
• 30 units retrained for Community fire safety and
  environmental fire intervention.
• Predictive software, census data, activity data
  fire and road accidents.
• Spatial planning now the basis of intervention
• Service has to be Safe, Evidenced and Affordable.

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4 Scottish experiences

• Kinlochleven regeneration partnership approach
  shared with Euromontana partners.
• Fire Service shared with colleagues in
  Palencia, interest at central govt level from
  Italy, Spain
• Sunart Oakwood Sustainable environmental
  regeneration bottom up partnership
• Podcarpacie Migrant workers, retention of young
  people, affordable housing

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Conclusions

• All Mountains suffer from natural handicaps
• Distance from markets
• Fragmentation
• High cost/low wages
• But they are also reservoirs of
• Ecological Diversity
• Heritage and Culture
• Quality products
• Under-utilised potential

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Conclusions continued

• Mountains share common challenges
• And the solutions can be best found by a shared
  internal approach by local public and private
  institutions
• Enterprise
• Environment
• Public services
• A shared external approach will inevitably offer
  a two way conduit
• New ideas
• Tested services
• Shared policy aims

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The next steps globally

• Dissemination of the policies and exchanges
• SARD-M / Mountain Partnership as a potential
  vehicle for continued exchange