The present and future of mountains, from the valleys to the summits, focus of the Euromontana 2024 congress 

The European association Euromontana –dedicated to the sustainable development of mountain areas– is holding its 13th congress in Puigcerdà (La Cerdanya, Catalonia), which will take place from 5 to 18 October 2024, with the title 'Shaping the future of mountain economies'. This international meeting is held every two years and aims to share and debate the present and future possibilities of mountain areas, environmentally, socially and economically. CREAF is involved in co-organising it, together with Euromontana, the Department of Territory of the Catalan Government and Puigcerdà Town Council. Pre-registration for the conference 'Shaping the future of mountain economies' is now open.

The congress is intended to be a space for reflection which brings together the voices of the member organisations of the association, including representatives of agricultural organisations, neighbourhood associations, research institutes, and associations linked to the economy of the area and also some governments. Its aim is to share ways of promoting the genuine development of mountain areas, from the valleys to the summits. This is why its work takes into account the evolution of people's lives connected to agriculture, the impact of an economy linked to leisure and tourism, the environmental reality today conditioned by climate change and the need for new infrastructures and digitalization, to name but a few essential aspects. 

"The convention is a unique opportunity to bring together people interested in boosting the mountain economy. It aims to be a space to generate ideas, to develop and implement strategies for a new mountain economy that is more sustainable and respectful with the environment, which must promote a resilient social and economic fabric in the face of the pressures imposed by climate change and globalisation".

BERNAT CLARAMUNT, CREAF researcher.

The international congress contemplates the evolution of people's lives connected to agriculture, the impact of an economy linked to leisure and tourism, the environmental reality conditioned by climate change and the need for new infrastructures and digitalization, to name a few essential ones.

The previous European congress, held in Calabria (Italy) in 2022, adopted the declaration Smart mountains: making our territories more attractive and resilient in the face of social, economic and environmental transitions, which contains the guiding principles for the development of European mountain areas until 2050. In October 2024, Puigcerdà will be the venue for the thirteenth edition of the Euromontana congress, where, based on this declaration, the challenges and strategies for increasing the resilience, sustainability and prosperity of the economy of mountain areas will be examined in depth. 

The woring areas for the 2024 international event are as follows:

1. How to increase the value of mountain agricultural products. Direct marketing systems, optimization of distribution channels, quality and organic production seals and the cultivation of new products. 

2. From the raw material to the processed. How to attract the secondary sector back to mountain areas to transform production 

3. Digitization of the mountain economy. 

4. Encouraging entrepreneurship, start-up companies and self-employed initiatives. 

5. Work with nature. New approaches to tourism in mountain areas, the challenges of climate change and the transformation of mountain resorts. 

6. Work for nature. Quantify and compensate for the ecosystem services provided by agricultural activities in the mountains, to balance the preservation of ecosystems and taking into account the prosperity of people working in the primary sector. 

7. What makes mountain communities work. Beyond access to services, this line of work wants to highlight the opportunities for personal and professional development of living in the mountains, as well as the quality of life offered by this environment. 

8. Overcoming barriers to attract residents. How to improve access to affordable housing and mobilize empty flats in rural areas. 

9. Beyond the local perspective. Harnessing rural-urban linkages to build resilient mountain economies. 

Euromontana is based in Brussels (Belgium) and includes 70 organizations from 15 European countries. Its origins go back to a seminar on mountain agriculture organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 1953, although it became an independent entity in 1995.