New European Bauhaus Prizes 2023

Project category

Identify the award category for which this project is being submitted
Reconnecting with nature

Email user
p_megias@gencat.cat

Basic information
Project title
Recovering Aiguamolls de l’Empordà

Full Project Title
Torre Mornau Renaturalization: wetlands and brackish lagoons at Aiguamolls de l’Empordà

Please provide a short, catchy description of your project to be used in communication towards the public.
The Emporda’s wetlands are a unique biological reserve in the North of Catalonia. In this area Torre d’En Mornau includes 118 hectares of brackish lagoons, crop fields with 5345 sqm of build area. The intervention included the recovery of the existing buildings and improving the situation of the natural brackish lagoons and wetlands as biodiversity reserve while recovering also some traditional uses of the existing buildings by reintroducing the endangered Vaca de L’Albera cow breed.

What was the geographical scope of your project?
Local

Where was your project implemented?
Member State(s) and Western Balkans
Spain

If relevant, insert names of region(s)/municipality(ies) involved
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Does your project address mainly urban or rural issues?
Mainly rural

Does your project refer to a physical transformation of the built environment or other types of transformations (hard or soft investments)?
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)

Has your project benefited from EU programmes and/or funds?
No

Has your project won an EU prize with a monetary value awarded?
No

Is your project fully completed
Yes

Please indicate a date (mm/yy)
2016-12-31

On whose behalf are you submitting the application?
As a representative of an organisation
Please provide the contact details for the project promoter (the individual or representative of the organisation authorised to represent the project)
- Name of the organisation(s): CATALAN LAND INSTITUTE (INCASOL)
  Type of organisation: Public authority (European/national/regional/local)
  First name of representative: CRISTINA
  Last name of representative: CLOTET
  Gender: Female
  Nationality: Spain
  Function: HEAD OF INTERNATIONALIZATION OFFICE
  Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Carrer Corsega 273
  Town: Barcelona
  Postal code: 08008
  Country: Spain
  Direct Tel: +34 696 91 18 04
  E-mail: c_clotet@gencat.cat
  Website: https://incasol.gencat.cat/ca/inici
Social Media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.)
- URL: https://twitter.com/incasolcat
  Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): incasolcat
- URL: https://www.instagram.com/incasolcat/
  Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): incasolcat
- URL: https://www.linkedin.com/company/incasol
  Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): incasol
- URL: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP-5hgcI-2RcPR6WekzOM_w
  Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): @incasol7532
In case my project is selected as a finalist of the NEB Prizes 2023, I agree to share the name (individual and/or organisation’s), email address, website and social media accounts indicated above with other NEB Prizes finalists. I also agree to publish the name (individual and/or organisation’s), website and social media accounts indicated above next to the public description of my project in the channels of the European Commission.
Yes

How did you hear about the New European Bauhaus Prizes?
Previous participants

Description of the project
Please provide a summary of your project.
In North-Eastern Catalonia there is a natural fields and wetlands area of 117 ha with over 5300 of built areas named Torre Mornau. This area is part of the Parc dels Aiguamolls de l’Empordà (Emporda Marshes), a natural reserve since 1983.
It is an area by the seaside which includes some land that was recovered in the SXVIII from the wetlands to be shepherding and crop fields for the nearby farms. Over the time, the farms and fields were abandoned. And as a result, both the cultural heritage of the farms and the natural environment was at risk. As these fields are of an exceptional environmental, farming and sociocultural value, Incasòl proposed the recovery, management, refurbishing and conservation plan the area. The first step was refurbishing the existing buildings so they could be brought back to use. This step allowed reintroducing Vaca de l’Albera, a local cow breed at risk of extinction at that time.
The second phase proposed recovering the nature and uses of the shepherding wetlands as natural buffer for local flora and fauna. Due to its seasonal nature as brackish lagoons, with periods in which the area is flooded with sea water, they can’t be used as crops fields. The only possible uses for this area are shepherding meadows and natural reserve, as it had been in the past.
The different phases addressed water and creek management, trees mass and biodiversity, to recover the richness of these small ecosystems, with are the shelter of several animal species in the Parc.
So as a result of our actions, the area was again a healthy natural reserve recovered for the people and for the nature upon the regeneration of the farming industry fabric.

Please indicate the main themes of your project with 5 key words.
farms

Please indicate the main themes of your project with key words
sheperding

Please indicate the main themes of your project with key words
marshes

Please indicate the main themes of your project with key words
brackish lagoons

Please indicate the main themes of your project with key words
endangered ecosystem

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of sustainability and how these have been met. Please highlight how the project can be exemplary in this context.
The first phase allowed the abandoned farmes to be brought back to service. Those spaces were recoverd and prevented wasting materials. Also, as the second phase was centered on renaturing the area, cleaning and refurbishing water management and service roads, the overall sustainability of the wetlands was improved providing a recovered natural buffer able to hold and foster the biodiversity of the area.

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience for people (through design, positive emotions and cultural benefits) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the project can be exemplary in this context.
The area is a beautiful natural reserve, gaining the areas that had been damaged overt the years added value and attractive to the area. Also, as the brackish lagoons were delimited, the natural flora and fauna had a share as natural buffer.
The project also allowed the endangered Vaca de l’Albera cow breed to be farmed. Thus, it recovered both the farming culture in the area and provided a new natural environment for flora, fauna and inhabitants of the area to enjoy.

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of inclusion (ranging from accessibility and affordability for all to inclusive governing systems, design for all principles or new societal models) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the project can be exemplary in this context.
Associations and town councils were consulted and considered in the development of the plan

Please explain the way citizens benefiting from or affected by the project and civil society have been involved in the project and what has been the impact of this involvement on the project
At the beginning any actions on the wetlands area was not well considered by local nature associations. They were consulted and considered in the project. As the result their participation was included in the project and offered an improvement for inhabitants, workers and nature.

Please explain how different stakeholders at various levels (local, regional, national, European) were engaged in the design and implementation of the project. Please highlight what the added value of their engagement was.
At the beginning any actions on the wetlands area was not well considered by local nature associations. They were consulted and considered in the project. As the result their participation was included in the project and offered an improvement for inhabitants, workers and nature.

Please explain which disciplines and/ or knowledge fields were reflected in the design and implementation of your project. Please explain how representatives of these different fields interacted with each other, and what the added value of this process was.
The area needed intervention from the social, farming industry and environmental aspects. All these subjects were implemented by including experts on each area and making agreements with local town councils and associations.

Please give information on the results, outcomes and impacts achieved by your project in relation to the category you apply for. This includes also benefits from the project for direct and indirect beneficiaries
The main aim was to offer an alternative for a natural area in decadence. The environmental situation was really bad and the lands were not able hold neither their natural nor the farming needs. With our intervention the area recovered its function as natural buffer and offered a real use for the fields that had been abandoned. All those fields were in a later state certified as able to hold ecological production. Also a nearly the cow the Vaca de l’Albera was recovered and reintroduced.

Please provide documents showing the results, outcomes and impacts of your project
Web link
Web link
- https://rdi.dtes.scipedia.com/s/Ander_Alvarez_Puerta_2020a
Please highlight the innovative character of the project, when compared to mainstream actions in the field of the project
Recovering such an extense area in a natural reserve is a very ambitious project. Reserves are often areas in which no or little actions are allowed. AS the area had some particular elements, such as the seasonal flooding meadows it was not able to recover its natural state so easily. It was necessary to take action and work to improve its situation and offer a viable path for the area to thrive, at a natural and also sustainable way.

Please describe the methodology or approach used in your project.
Sustainability, farming and biodiversity specialists took part in the project to define and decide what were the most suitable actions to apply in the area.

Please describe which elements of your project could be replicated or transferred to other places, groups of beneficiaries and context. This may involve for example aspects of the methodology, technology, processes, products, learnings etc.
The process stablished some defined steps, first to allow buildings to be recovered for farming and then, arranging the possibilities so as nature could offer a possibility to recover the area. Any actions were previously set to consensus and well-studied to offer the best options and decide which areas were a priority.

Please explain what kind of global challenges the project addresses by providing local solutions
Sustainability and nature were addressed from a local level. But the results of the actions were clarly benefitial at a regional level and even global, as recovering the biodiversity of the area offers a natural space for migrating birds and other animals present at the area. Also, as the fields were granted an ecological production seal, it implied an increase on the offer of these products for the inhabitants of the region,
Please attach at least 6 high resolution images (or other types of visual representations, if images are not possible) to your application.
If you would like to upload additional documentation, please upload or write below
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By submitting your application you confirm that you are the copyright owner of the images provided and that they can be used by the European Commission for the purposes of promoting the New European Bauhaus on all platforms (websites, print, social media and other).
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that you are not in in one or more of the exclusion situations foreseen under Article 136 of the Financial Regulation.
Yes

By submitting this application, I declare that I am not related to the entities subject to EU restricted measures under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and subject to Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU)1, and entities covered by Commission Guidelines No 2013/C 205/05), which are not eligible to participate in any capacity.
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that you assume sole liability in the event of a claim relating to the activities carried out in the framework of the contest, that the proposed project has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Prizes in any other category or strand and that it has not been subject to any type of investigation, which could lead to a financial correction because of irregularities or fraud.
Yes

By submitting your application, you guarantee that you are the author or have the rights to proceed with the application and to authorise the use of the project and that you have obtained any necessary consents, licenses or assignments from third parties and included copyright notices when necessary.
Yes

By submitting your application, you understand that all the applications that meet the eligibility requirements will be shared for the purposes of the selection processes, and notably published on the secured platform prizes.new-european-bauhaus.eu and for the purposes of the promotion of these on the New European Bauhaus website and/or other European Commission communication channels. In this sense, the applications would be widely available. Applicants should ensure that they present their projects, in such a way that they could be shared without giving rise to intellectual property related concerns. If your submission is selected as one of the finalists, it will additionally be shared for the purpose of the public vote that will take place. The European Union is granted a licence to use and share your application with the general public and the official external experts for the purposes of the selection process, including the voting. The European Union has the right to use the images and visual materials and the description provided in the application for communication purposes related to the contest and beyond. Rights granted comprise the right to store, reproduce, display, publish and communicate or distribute copies in electronic or digital format, including, but not only, through the internet. Unless you have disclosed your name, the European Commission has no obligation to share your name when using or disseminating your contribution to the public. The European Union cannot be held responsible in case any submitted project, is found to infringe third party’s rights. The European Union shall be neither responsible for the use that third parties may do of the applications or related content.
Yes

By submitting your application, you acknowledge that you read and understand that the ‘Guide to Applicants’ of the NEB Prizes 2023, available online in the website of the NEB Prizes 2023, is an integral part of this application form and that it must therefore be observed when completing and submitting your application.
Yes