Ordino Launches POCTEFA PP3N Project to Strengthen Pyrenean Park of the Three Nations
Partners from Andorra, Catalonia, and France gathered for the kickoff seminar, defining 2024-2026 actions for biodiversity protection, youth exchanges, and UNESCO aspirations, backed by top-scoring EU funding.
Key Points
- Ordino launches POCTEFA PP3N project, top-scoring EU-funded initiative for Pyrenean Park of Three Nations.
- Partners from Andorra, Catalonia, France define 2024-2026 actions for biodiversity, youth exchanges, UNESCO goals.
- Focus on species protection like chamois and Pallaresa lizard, with annual seminars and interpretive trails.
- Aims to enhance ecological continuity, mountain trails, and transborder community ties.
Ordino hosted the launch seminar for the three-year POCTEFA PP3N project on Wednesday, marking the first in-person gathering of partners from Andorra, Catalonia, and France to strengthen the Pyrenean Park of the Three Nations. The initiative, funded 65% by European POCTEFA funding, topped the programme's selection with the highest overall score among 68 approved projects out of 115 submissions.
Technicians and representatives from parishes including Ordino and La Massana, alongside counterparts from the Parc Natural de l’Alt Pirineu, Parc Natural Comunal de les Valls del Comapedrosa, Parc Natural de la Vall de Sorteny, Parc Naturel Régional des Pyrénées Ariégeoises, and ANA-CEN Ariège, defined key actions for 2024-2026. Project coordinator Matthieu Cruège, director of the Parc Naturel Régional des Pyrénées Ariégeoises, described the event as the official start of joint efforts, building on near-daily technical contacts since the park's 2018 creation in La Massana. He emphasised transforming the transborder area into a space actively used by residents, fostering youth exchanges to build a shared Pyrenean identity.
Activities target institutions and citizens, including youth exchanges for regional awareness, mountain trail upgrades linking natural parks, and border events to enhance neighbourly relations. Long-term goals include a 10-year roadmap for improved public management, biodiversity protection, ecological continuity, and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve status.
Marc Font, head of Ordino's Environment and Agriculture Department, underscored strengthening institutional, community, and neighbourly ties while revitalising the area's natural and cultural heritage. Prior work has yielded shared mapping; POCTEFA support now expands collaboration.
A core focus is biodiversity preservation, with each partner linked to emblematic Pyrenean species. Ordino will address the chamois (isard), while La Massana handles the Pallaresa lizard (serenalla pallaresa). Annual scientific-technical seminars will share expertise on management and conservation, creating interpretive trails. The first, on the chamois, is scheduled for late May in Andorra. Another in October at La Massana will gather specialists on biodiversity and related fields.
Further details on timelines and cofinancing are under discussion.
Original Sources
This article was aggregated from the following Catalan-language sources:
- Altaveu•
Ordino acull el seminari de llançament del projecte POCTEFA Parc Pirinenc de les tres nacions
- Diari d'Andorra•
Ordino acull la primera reunió per enfortir el Parc Pirinenc de les Tres Nacions
- El Periòdic•
El projecte PP3N arrenca a Ordino amb un pla per reforçar la cooperació al Parc de les Tres Nacions
- Bon Dia•
Els especialistes aposten per un mapa d'alerta de riscos naturals