Second workshop of the working group for developing a manual on intangible heritage in protected areas in Spain
La Morera de Montsant (Catalonia) 3-5 March 2012
The second workshop to advance the drafting of the manual on the cultural and spiritual values of protected areas in Spain (a joint project of Europarc-Spain and the Silene Association) was held in the Montsant Natural Park, Cataloniua, from 5–7 March 2012.
The 15 participants of the workshop came from eight regions of Spain (Aragon, Castile-La Mancha, Catalonia, Valencia, Galicia, the Balearic Islands, Canary Islands and Madrid) and three private organizations (Friends of the Salinas Interior, Silene and CatalunyaCaixa).
Neus Miró, director of the Natural Park, served as host and was in charge of the local organization. On Monday she led a tour of the ruins of the monastery of Escaladei, explaining how the Carthusians managed the Montsant for six centuries, while on Wednesday she led the visit to the canyon of Fraguerau, accompanied by a female hermit who keeps the centuries-old tradition of hermits in the Montsant alive.
The intense and fruitful working sessions were held on 5 and 6 May in the new headquarters of the Natural Park in La Morera de Montsant, and focused on methodologies and recommendations. Of the former, the strengths and weaknesses of the methods Tool for Assessing the Benefits for Protected Areas and Methodology of the case studies of the Delos Initiative were discussed, while of the latter, consensus was reached on the index to be developed electronically.
Miquel Rafa, Director of the Area Territori i Paisatge CatalunyaCaixa Social Work, sponsor of the project along with the Cabildo of Tenerife, attended the beginning of the workshop. The welcome dinner was attended by the Chairman of the Board of the Natural Park of Montsant, Mr. Ricard Pasanau.