(Photo credit: Teresa Pinto-Correia)
Local public authorities and policy makers are important actors for the regional Multi-Actor Platforms (MAPs) that MOVING project is establishing in the 23 Reference Regions where it works.
One of them is Cordilheira Central, located in the centre of Portugal, a landscape region comprising parishes from three different municipalities, which has its centre in the most paradigmatic municipality of the whole mountainous region, Manteigas. It is a sparsely populated and peripheral area, with low levels of social innovation and entrepreneurship, which makes it difficult to mobilise local power to participate in project initiatives.
To start building a relationship between this region and local authorities, on 6 December 2021 the Multi-Actor Platform’s coordinator met with the newly elected mayor of Manteigas. The meeting was also attended by technicians from the municipality: the forester and the veterinarian, as well as an economist working on a municipal social revitalisation programme.
In this meeting, the MAP’s coordinator presented the work done so far: (i) methodology, (ii) key actors and strategic value chains identified, (iii) main issues raised by the actors and (iv) vulnerabilities found in the resource system. It was also discussed the adaptation mechanisms and concrete actions that could be implemented by the municipality to meet them.
By establishing links with local power, MOVING hopes to create synergies and strategies that are sustainable beyond the duration of the project.
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