The Provincial Council of Girona (DDGI) is a supramunicipal administration that provides technical and economic support to the 221 municipalities in the province of Girona, including the 26 municipalities conforming the Costa Brava area.

The Department of Land Use and Sustainability at DDGI has a direct role in the provincial management of environmental issues, providing active management to municipalities and promoting and leading innovative actions under European programmes (Green growth, Nature protection, Health and Well-being).

It participates in European programmes and is an active member of local and national organisations on land management and intervention such are the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP), the Local Government Network + Biodiversity and Europarc-Spain.

Presentation of the project games to the Educational Resource Centres of the Costa Brava.

Within this Department, the Environmental Service is the one who participates in the LIFE medCLIFFS project. LIFE medCLIFFS has also the support of the Council of Local Initiatives for the Environment (CILMA), a consultative and advisory body for local authorities within the Girona Provincial Council aiming at promoting the participation and cooperation in the definition of environmental policies that fall within the competence of the Provincial Council.

The Environmental Service at DDGI aims to promote the environmental and sustainability policy at the local level through technical support, funding campaigns and coordination of environmental education programmes. It has large experience in managing biodiversity and natural habitats, since it is part of the management bodies of different protected areas within Natura 2000 network: Montseny Natural Park and Biosphere Reserve, ES5110001; Portlligat Island in Cap de Creus Natural Park, ES5120007; La Fageda d’en Jordà and the Santa Margarida volcano, in Zona volcànica de la Garrotxa Natural Park, ES5120004; and Les Gavarres, ES5120010.

María Guirado, natural heritage technician at the Girona Provincial Council, surveys areas with invasive plants.

Over the last 17 years, it has led multiple projects to control and manage invasive alien species, with a particular focus on invasive ornamental flora, through direct species control actions, the preparation of a comprehensive management plan for provincial ornamental flora, and the drafting and online publication of management protocols for the most aggressive species (including Carpobrotus sp. and Opuntia sp.), which are currently the key reference documents in Catalonia.

The CILMA was created in 1999 by DDGI with the aim of promoting sustainable development at local level. It is a cooperative volunteering instrument where a total of 188 municipalities in the Girona province work together to achieve the UNESCO Sustainable Development Goals. It has a key role in the promotion of environmental education though different resources are the LIFE medCLIFFS educational games.

Text: Roser Melero, Maria Guirado and Judit Vilà.