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The XCT, Xarxa de Custòdia
del Territori (Land Stewardship Network), is
an umbrella organisation of Land Stewardship (LS) organisations
in Catalonia created as an NGO in March 2003. Its members
(42 in November 2003) are foundations, associations,
town councils, public partnerships (consortium) protected
areas, research centres, and organisations alike, devoted
to landscape, countryside and biodiversity conservation.
The XCT promotes the use
of LS as a part in the strategy to conserve natural,
cultural and landscape values of the land. It assists
the work of land trusts, communicates stewardship to
the general and specific public, works with public and
private stakeholders to develop its use and carries
out research and pilot projects in the LS field.
To contact us:
info@custodiaterritori.org
and www.custodiaterritori.org
Post address:
XCT, c. Sagrada Família, 7
(Universitat de Vic)
E-08500-VIC (Catalonia – Spain).
Phone: +34 93 8866135
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 Our
origins |
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The Landscape and Countryside Foundation, or FTP, Fundació
Territori i Paisatge (a strongly funded organisation created
in 1998 by its single sponsor, a savings bank), organised
an International Seminar on Land Stewardship in November
2000. Canadian, US, French and Italian organisations were
invited, with assistance by the Quebec-Labrador Foundation
/ Atlantic Center for the Environment.
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A key group
of 50 invited participants developed the Montesquiu
Declaration on Land Stewardship, a 4-page document
later signed by more than 60 organisations form Catalonia
and the Balearic Islands. The Declaration fixed visions
and objectives for developing LS in our country, and proposed
the creation of a network organisation to impulse and
assist the process in the long term.
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In November 2001 FTP organised a second open seminar
attended by 70 participants, an introductory guide on
LS, based on the papers presented in 2000 was presented,
and some 12 short papers presented the very first LS
initiatives in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands. A
final forum proposed that the XCT
should be created as a formal organisation.
2002 was a year to conceive, push up for and involve
all interested organisations in the creation of the
XCT. Some key elements
in the process happened to be: an electronic newsletter
(more than 350 subscribers), a 2002-06 strategic plan
prepared with a wide participation and consensus, via
e-mail and an open meeting in June 2002, an survey to
future member organisations, and the preparation of
the first LS landowner guide with a list of 14 land
trust, that also assisted the authors with ideas and
case-study photos for the guide.
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| The
present |
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On March 6th 2003 the XCT
was officially founded at an event attended by the Catalan
Minister for the Environment. A network office at the
University of Vic leads the initiatives of the XCT
undertaking a real effort to working in network. The
Environment Ministry and FTP, are providing starting
funds for the work of XCT
until 2006 which, adding the membership support, come
to a current annual budget of some 120.000 Euros (@
US $). Vic University does provide free office space
for the same period.
The XCT is directed by
a board of members (11 organisations) and an annual
general assembly. The office team is composed by two
full time staff (director and project coordinator) and
three part-time (communication coordinator, organisation
coordinator and officer for legal support).
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| Geographycal
scope of the XCT |
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The Montesquiu Declaration (see Origins above) was presented
to an audience representing both Catalan and Balearic
organisations and institutions. Catalonia and the Balearic
Islands are two autonomous Catalan-speaking regions
within Spain. The XCT
has been registered as an NGO in Catalonia.
Our vision is for a network growing slowly in other
parts of Spain, and perhaps up to Portugal or the Western
Mediterranean. We see the local interest and demand
for land stewardship as a compulsory component of extending
XCT to other regions,
either in Spain or elsewhere. The formula of a federation
of regional networks might be the formula for this participated
growth.
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| Accomplishments
on land stewardship in Catalonia and Spain |
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Land stewardship, custòdia del territori
in Catalan, is a land conservation philosophy less than
5 years old in our country. Public and private organisations
dedicated to land conservation and landowner organisations
have now learned the concept and are starting to, or studying
how to, use it. The general public and the funding organisations,
still have to be introduced to land stewardship.
Land trust are just emerging (around 30 exist, the majority
of which have other objectives than just LS), and they
do have the task to build on training, professionalisation
and membership and funder support. Summing Catalonia and
the Balearic Islands some 30.000 Ha might be under some
kind of LS agreement (from verbal agreements to full land
ownership), although a formal census has not yet been
initiated. It is key that land trusts that are emerging
in our country work at very varied levels, from national,
to regional and local, thus providing very diverse approaches
and opportunities for LS.
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The Catalan Government is now starting to study legislative
opportunities to support land stewardship. Other regional
governments in Spain are looking at similar approaches
but without any coordination of efforts. This happens
as the development of the European Union-wide Natura
2000 Network is entering its management phase looking
at various strategies for agreeing management with owners
of designated sites.
Elsewhere in Spain some LS initiatives exist, mostly
by small to medium environmental foundations, some of
which make use of the European Union LIFE Program for
funding. A LS network does not exist for all Spain and
small LS organisations do not exist or are either working
on their own and their work is unknown to us.
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Global networking for land stewardship |
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The XCT works regionally
in the Western Mediterranean to promote the use of LS.
Our networking strategy makes use of each single initiative
or organisation interested to add up in our common objective.
We believe that networking is a key component for the
worldwide growth of the LS movement, as most national
or regional movements today are disconnected between
them. In our case, as a very new movement, we are strongly
interested in the possibility to exchange professionals
and case studies with other countries, but we are also
looking at countries at a similar level of the development
of LS to reach agreements for making use of synergies
to grow together.
Do contact us if you see common interests
and beliefs for Land Stewardship!
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