The Government revives the plan to boost high mountain villages

BarcelonaWhen the High Mountain Law was passed, Catalonia was not part of the European Union. At that time (in 1983), the law was passed with the intention of addressing problems such as the lack of hospitals, schools, and libraries in high mountain villages, as well as the infrastructure and communication deficit. Now, more than 40 years later, the Catalan government believes that the priorities of these territories have changed and, therefore, the law needs updating.

The Catalan executive has revived the project launched by the previous government—which was shelved at the end of the ERC's term—and this Thursday will present the new High Mountain Law of Catalonia. The aim of the update, according to the head of the Department of Territory, Housing, and Ecological Transition, Silvia Paneque, is to address the new economic, social, environmental, and institutional challenges that have arisen in recent decades. "This is a law long demanded by the region, a necessary one, and above all, one born from the clear intention of confronting the realities of the territory and providing useful, concrete, and appropriate solutions," the regional minister stated. The draft of the new law, which will be open for public comment starting this Thursday, will halve the number of municipalities where the regulation applies. It will reduce the number from 300 to 144 municipalities in Aran, Alta Ribagorça, Pallars Sobirà, Pallars Jussà, Alt Urgell, Cerdanya, Solsonès, Berguedà, and Ripollès, while excluding the Garrotxa region. These municipalities occupy almost 30% of Catalonia's land area but account for only 2% of its population.

Government sources explain that the reduction in the number of municipalities affected by the new law is due to the desire to focus efforts on the high mountain areas themselves, where there are assets that the new law aims to enhance and leverage with new projects. "We are talking about forest bioeconomy, silvopasture, knowledge transfer, training, and educating people who can carry out this work," the same sources explain, citing as an example the fact that Catalonia's public forests are concentrated primarily in the Pyrenees.

A decision-making body

Among the new features of the law is the reformulation of the General Council for High Mountain Areas—made up of representatives from the Government, local entities, and rural associations—which until now had a purely advisory role and from now on "will be able to make decisions." In addition, the High Mountain Technical Office will also be created, which will have two functions. One will be to act as an observatory to identify challenges and needs of the territory and evaluate the implementation of policies. The other will be the development of the Strategic Action Plan, which over six years will include "innovative projects that drive the economy, generate well-being, and have supra-municipal effects," all of which will receive public funding.