Climate change adaptation actions in Montseny

Proposal

The commission is part of the pilot action identified and approved by the Territorial Bureau for Climate Change Adaptation (MeTACC) of the RB Montseny on January 23, 2019, with the title: “Characterization and Definition of Improvements Environmental in All Sectors and Conducting a Pilot Test”.

After conducting a Vulnerability Study of the Montseny territory and a Climate Change Adaptation Plan, the most urgent actions to be taken were evaluated. One of them is the subject of the Cíclica assignment: the proposal for improvements to the process of assessing the adaptation to climate change of companies in the agricultural and tourist sector of the Montseny Biosphere Reserve.

Objectives

Carry out a specific evaluation on the adaptation to climate change of various establishments and facilities in the agricultural and tourism sector of the Montseny R.B., based on an energy culture process that allows the local resilience of the existing initiatives to be brought to the fore. From there, to be able to establish synergies and mutual learnings enriched together with external inputs through the path of adaptation to climate change.

Approach

The methodological proposal works from the understanding of social metabolism for its transformation to circular metabolism as a driver of the transformation of the productive system towards adaptation to climate change. Expertise in the fields of architecture, town planning and land planning allows us to broaden our understanding of this metabolic understanding from trans-scalarity and its impact over time.

The proposal incorporates cooperation as a backbone to ensure real roots in the local reality of the tourism and agricultural sector. This process must allow: on the one hand, the appropriation of the process by local companies in the sector, which will facilitate their awareness and empowerment, and on the other hand, strengthen existing structures such as the economy network local social and organic production and consumption (Slow Food network in the Vallès Oriental). It proposes a work by territorial sectors and types of agents so that affinity sessions are more operative when it comes to generating proximity or thematic synergies.

All actions incorporate the social perspective of interculturality and gender at a transversal level. At the same time, they are also valued based on the environmental improvements that they generate in the direct environment of the facilities , as well as other improvements on a trans-scale level, such as the promotion of greater biodiversity (favoring local flora and fauna, combating pests). ..), especially fostering a diverse landscape such as that of the agroforestry mosaic typical of the Vallès Oriental, characterized by its potential for resilience in the face of disturbances such as pests, fires and floods.

It proposes the elaboration of a joint methodology of evaluation for the adaptation to the climatic change by companies object of the commission. In this sense the proposal:

Analyzes from a metabolic understanding the vectors that determine the economic activity carried out by the company, that is, the inputs (consumed resources) and outputs (generated waste) and their degree of circular management in each of the following vectors: water, energy, mobility, materiality of the facilities and organic matter;developing benchmarks to assess their degree of environmental sustainability and, therefore, their adaptation to climate change.
Evaluate the relationship of these vectors with the social profiles linked to the activity. Taking into account transversal aspects such as the intercultural and gender perspective (productive and reproductive activities within the company), the inclusion of specific groups, the diversity of profiles and the management of groups among others.
Review how the economic activity of the company has evolved over time in relation to energy and material management, so that, in the case of continuous activity over time, it can draw lessons from past models (previous using fossil fuels (for example) and / or other similar companies in the local sector.
Propose specific strategic lines depending on the specificity of the company (scale, dominant vectors, specific conditions of the location, human structure) to define the action plan and to promote a greater resilience to the environmental disturbances to reduce the impact on climate change.

Results

The evaluation focuses on identifying risks of environmental perturbations of climatic origin, both current and future, as well as identifying actions to minimize or mitigate these risks. The actions are grouped in relation to the metabolic transformation of the vectors defined in the methodology and their interrelations, as well as the impact they have on environmental quality both inside the facilities and in the outdoor spaces, following the following indicators:

Energy consumption and emission of polluting gases .

Mobility generated by the company.

Water cycle of the company as its territorial relationship with the water basin in which it is located.

Materiality of the facilities, both due to the impact of the materials used and the study of their habitability (efficiency in the use of spaces).

Organic matter cycle, both in the form of organic food and waste, as well as in the management of forest biomass or agricultural waste. Proposals to improve food resilience.
Reduction of the risk of fire.