Research
The management of the Natural Park
The Generalitat, the government of Catalonia, is the body that manages the Natural Park. The main goal is to protect the natural and cultural values of the area, making it compatible with the sustainable development of the activities that take place in this region.
The management team carries out activity programmes in areas ranging from biodiversity conservation and monitoring, forest management, fire prevention, game and livestock management, cultural heritage preservation and management of public use, with special emphasis on the monitoring and control of aquatic activities.
The natural park, an outdoor research laboratory
In this natural park, even long before its creation, scientific research applied to management has been important, and continues to be so. The sponsors are universities and research centres in Catalonia and around the world. Much of the research on the evolution of marine ecosystems in the Medes Islands is used to determine the locations and carrying capacity of different diving areas.
The Museum of the Mediterranean, located in Torroella del Montgrí, is home to the Academic Chair of Littoral Mediterranean Ecosystems (attached to the University of Girona) and the Natural Park Documentation Centre. The chair promotes studies in the field of Mediterranean coastal ecology, in collaboration with research groups, organisations and individuals. It also publishes the “Recerca i Territori (Research and Territory)” collection, which summarises the main lines of research, both in the marine and coastal fields, as well as in other areas of the natural and social sciences.
The recovery of the Baix Ter wetlands, a success story
The wetlands of the Baix Ter are subject to heavy urban development and tourist pressure. In the area known as La Pletera, located between the Els Riells residential complex and Gola del Ter, construction began in 1987 on a promenade and six blocks of flats, but the development was stopped, and the site was abandoned and fell into ruin.
In 2001, a new urban development plan was approved in Torroella de Montgrí, which advocated a change in model and the regeneration of the Pletera. As a complement to urban planning, three projects funded by the European Union (the Life Programme) have contributed to the recovery of coastal systems. These projects have been a model of collaboration between the scientific community, government agencies and the private sector.
Two of the projects (the first between 1999-2003 and the third between 2014-2018) have made it possible to de-urbanise the Pletera and create a system of lagoons, marshes and dunes that will once again function as a coastal ecosystem. The other project (between 2005-2008) served to restore the habitat of amphibians and one of the most unique reptiles, the pond turtle.
The management team carries out activity programmes in areas ranging from biodiversity conservation and monitoring, forest management, fire prevention, game and livestock management, cultural heritage preservation and management of public use, with special emphasis on the monitoring and control of aquatic activities.
The natural park, an outdoor research laboratory
In this natural park, even long before its creation, scientific research applied to management has been important, and continues to be so. The sponsors are universities and research centres in Catalonia and around the world. Much of the research on the evolution of marine ecosystems in the Medes Islands is used to determine the locations and carrying capacity of different diving areas.
The Museum of the Mediterranean, located in Torroella del Montgrí, is home to the Academic Chair of Littoral Mediterranean Ecosystems (attached to the University of Girona) and the Natural Park Documentation Centre. The chair promotes studies in the field of Mediterranean coastal ecology, in collaboration with research groups, organisations and individuals. It also publishes the “Recerca i Territori (Research and Territory)” collection, which summarises the main lines of research, both in the marine and coastal fields, as well as in other areas of the natural and social sciences.
The recovery of the Baix Ter wetlands, a success story
The wetlands of the Baix Ter are subject to heavy urban development and tourist pressure. In the area known as La Pletera, located between the Els Riells residential complex and Gola del Ter, construction began in 1987 on a promenade and six blocks of flats, but the development was stopped, and the site was abandoned and fell into ruin.
In 2001, a new urban development plan was approved in Torroella de Montgrí, which advocated a change in model and the regeneration of the Pletera. As a complement to urban planning, three projects funded by the European Union (the Life Programme) have contributed to the recovery of coastal systems. These projects have been a model of collaboration between the scientific community, government agencies and the private sector.
Two of the projects (the first between 1999-2003 and the third between 2014-2018) have made it possible to de-urbanise the Pletera and create a system of lagoons, marshes and dunes that will once again function as a coastal ecosystem. The other project (between 2005-2008) served to restore the habitat of amphibians and one of the most unique reptiles, the pond turtle.
