The Faculty of Law of the University of Valencia was the venue for the workshop on governance in coastal and marine regions in the Valencian Community, a key initiative to address the environmental challenges facing the region. The event, which took place on Friday 7th of June, brought together leading experts from the public sector, administration, economic and civil society spheres, consolidating itself as an essential forum for discussion and the exchange of ideas on the sustainable management of the Valencian coastline.
The workshop was structured in four sessions, led by academics from several European universities such as Gianluca Ferraro and Pierre Failler (University of Portsmouth), Bernabé Aldeguer, Oscar Barberà and Irene Luján (Universitat de València), Elisa Furlan, Federica Zennaro and Gea Grassi (Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici). These sessions addressed critical issues such as obstacles and facilitators in coastal governance, the current policy framework in Spain and the Valencian Community, the impacts of climate change in the region, and strategies to anticipate the future and transform decision-making.
Representatives of various institutions such as the Generalitat Valenciana, the Valencian Federation of Municipalities and Provinces, the Valencia City Council and the Ministry of Ecological Transition were invited to the event. The invitation was also extended to various civil society institutions such as HOSBEC (Hotel and Tourism Association of the Valencian Community), the Assemblea Climà tica, Per l’Horta and Acció Ecologista Agró. Finally, the conference was also attended by representatives of the Oceanogrà fic Foundation and various research projects such as Life Intemares and Wetlands4Climate.
The conference was funded by the University of Portsmouth and the University of Valencia and is linked to the development of the Blue Green Governance project (Horizon Europe).
The stakeholder group warned about climate change risks, including coastal erosion, rising average temperatures, rising sea levels and sea temperatures, extreme weather and salinisation, among others. In addition, it identified the following problems: organisational barriers, as well as barriers in the use of scientific information and in stakeholder participation, which hinder coordination between administrations and agents and the effective participation of the latter.
The event helped to provide solutions in the areas of governance, scientific knowledge, stakeholder behaviour and economic measures, highlighting the main needs in each of these dimensions, such as the promotion of bodies that make up the institutional structure of the areas to be managed or the creation of citizens’ assemblies that encourage participation.
Attendees finally highlighted the need to develop advanced scenario foresight analysis techniques, incorporating new forecasting tools such as regulatory compliance indicators or plans for monitoring and control of environmental laws, among others, in order to anticipate future scenarios.
Written by : Irene Lujan Climent.
I really liked the way the outputs were presented…very informative.