—The VI Sustainable Heritage Management Workshop focuses on the construction of local and regional development indicators

—The Foundation organises a workshop on the public use of natural spaces, as part of CONAMA

The abertis foundation is this month backing two scientific workshops on the rational use of natural resources. The first is the VI Sustainable Heritage Management Workshop, which this year focuses on Cultural heritage in the construction of development indicators and which is held on Friday 24 November at the Fundación Lázaro Galdiano, Madrid. The second is Nature and public use: Mobility, impacts and proposals, which will take place on Monday 27 November in Madrid, as part of the National Environment Conference (CONAMA 8).

The VI Sustainable Heritage Management Workshop has as its goal to debate cultural heritage management and the construction of local and regional development indicators. Design of these indicators is intended to facilitate the implementation of sustainable policies and plans that guarantee the conservation, evaluation and social, cultural and tourist use of heritage. This encounter, which will benefit from the presence of Dr. Jordi Tresserras, of the University of Barcelona, as Scientific Director, will place special emphasis on sites declared as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO, in their different categories (cultural heritage, natural heritage, cultural landscapes and cultural itineraries).

For its part, the workshop Nature and public use will deal with the role assumed today by natural spaces as the setting for recreational, sporting and tourist activities. In fact, the strong recreational pressure on these spaces –with 49.4 million visits made to Natural Parks in 2004 (EUROPARC, 2005)– may have a negative impact upon them.

Management of mobility and the creation of a legislative framework on this matter are key factors in the management of public use and the prevention of environmental impact, according to workshop coordinators Dr. Martí Boada, abertis foundation trustee and lecturer at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, and Dr. Javier Benayas, lecturer at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.

The abertis foundation is an entity which supports and disseminates research on the impact of large-scale infrastructure on the territory, especially on the environment, the economy and demographics. It also provide support for actions in favour of road safety. For more information on its activities, visit www.fundacionabertis.org.

Friday, 24 November

VI Sustainable Heritage Management Workshop

Cultural heritage in the construction of development indicators

Programme

9:00 h. Arrival and handover of documentation.

9:30 h. Opening. Sra. Sagrario Huelin, abertis foundation manager; Dr. Jordi Tresserras Juan, Fundació Bosch i Gimpera-University of Barcelona; Sr. Julián Martinez, Director-General of Fine Arts and Cultural Assets (Ministry of Culture).

10:00 h. Speech. Cultural heritage in the construction of development indicators. Dr. Georges Zouain, ex-Director of UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre and Director of the GAIA consultancy.

10:45 h. Speech: Heritage management and local development indicators. Dr. Victor Fernández Salinas, Vice-President of the Spanish ICOMOS Committee and lecturer at the University of Seville.

11:30 h. Coffee break.

12:00 h. Round table session. Indicators for efficient, sustainable heritage management. Moderator: Dr. Jordi Tresserras Juan.

– Load capacity indicators for visitor management. Sra. Victoria Chamorro, Secretary-General of the Alhambra Trust, Granada.

– Heritage project assessment indicators. Sra. Araceli Morales, ex-Minister of Culture, Colombia, and Coordinator of the World Heritage Site Cities’ Network.

– Heritage management indicators and their impact on the local economy: cultural itineraries. Dr. Juan Carlos Matamala, Fundació Bosch Gimpera-University of Barcelona.

13:30 h. Conclusion and closure.

Monday, 27 November

National Environment Conference (CONAMA 8)

Nature and public use: Mobility, impacts and proposals

Programme

16.00 h. Introduction, Dr. Martí Boada, abertis foundation trustee

16.15 h. New horizons for research into public use impacts, Dr. Javier Benayas (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid)

16.45 h. Nature and public use: the current regulatory scene, Dr. José María Nasarre (University of Zaragoza)

17.15 h. Good practices in the management of visitors to protected natural spaces, Dr. Javier Gómez–Limón (EUROPARC España)

17.45 h. Mobility and distribution of visitors to natural spaces: current issues, challenges and opportunities, Dr. Xavier Mayor, Estudio Xavier Mayor Farguell

18.15 h. Mobility, impacts and proposals: conclusions, Dr. Martí Boada

18.35 h. Public participation, debate and closing session