The ongoing POCTEFA project, PlasticØPyr, has been selected as an example of good practice for the development of mountain areas by the European Association of Mountain Areas (Euromontana). Euromontana now represents some 75 member organizations of all kinds in 20 European countries.

The project, led by CEAB-CSIC researcher Helena Guasch, appears in the latest brochure “Cohesion policy supports tourism in mountain areas” of the association.

The Euromontana Association was founded as a scientific, non-profit organization with an international vocation, neutral in religion and politics, registered under the French law of July 1, 1901.

Its constitution states that the association will aim to improve the living conditions of the mountain populations of Europe, in particular by:

• Expression, promotion and defense of the cultural, economic, political and scientific interests of mountain populations in the European Union, before the European Union, the governments of the European States, the organizations responsible for regional development, the organizations in charge of cultural policies , social and economic and in front of all the organizations involved in the mountain areas;
• Valorisation of the research carried out in the mountainous areas at local, regional, national and sectorial level. Agriculture, forestry and the environment will be given special attention;
• Informing the public about problems in mountainous areas and their publication;
  the promotion of training and research in mountain areas as well as the study of the economic, social and ecological problems of Europe and mountain areas from the perspective of mountain populations;
• Development of international cooperation to reduce inequalities between mountain regions in Europe.

What is the aim of PlasticØPyr project?

The PlasticØPyr project aims to sustainably prevent the accumulation of plastics in mountain ecosystems in order to make tourism compatible with the conservation of these ecosystems. PlasticØPyr responds to the challenge of making tourism compatible with the conservation and improvement of mountain river ecosystems.

The originality and novelty of the project lie in the development of a strategy that involves local citizens, research centers, specialized companies and local agents in research, dissemination of the problem and co-creation of business models of circular economy. currently non-existent.