In December 2017, Francisco Javier Sendra, the Provincial Deputy of Environmental Matters of Alicante, Spain, attended the fifth Global Meeting of the Mountain Partnership at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) headquarters in Rome, Italy, together with Antonio Poderoso, Director of the Environment, Energy and Waste Department of Alicante. Through bilateral meetings, the representatives shared the management model that the Provincial Council of Alicante has been applying in its many mountainous municipalities.

 

The Provincial Council of Alicante has implemented a series of local interventions and strategies in mountain areas, including annual investments aimed at slowing out-migration from rural areas. Among the initiatives reported by the Council, they highlighted how the actions taken on the local network of mountain trails, recreational areas, urban trees and green patronage, as well as other services promoted by the President of the Provincial Council of Alicante, César Sánchez Pérez, show a firm commitment by the province to mountain areas and their residents.

 

The territory of Alicante is characterized by rugged mountains with a nearby touristic coastline. The representatives of Alicante believe there is great potential for establishing synergies between the mountains and the coast in Alicante and wish to share this model with the members of the Mountain Partnership. For this reason, it was agreed to continue discussing the Alicante proposal as a reference for the application of certain prioritized areas of work outlined during the Global Meeting and possibly opening a permanent communication channel with Alicante’s government. It was proposed to follow up on the discussions of the bilateral meetings at a forum on sustainable mountain development in Alicante in 2018.