The province of Palencia and the AGRONATUR project

índex 1.The Provincial Council of Palencia and its responsibilities. 2.Our objectives in the area of Rural Promotion and Development Department. 3.A brief description of the province of Palencia: its population 4.A brief description of the province of Palencia: its economy 5.A brief description of the province of Palencia: its resources 6.The AGRONATUR project and its implementation in the province of Palencia 7.Activities already undertaken in the AGRONATUR project

The Provincial Council of Palencia and its responsabilities  The Provincial Council of Palencia is an local entity of public administration. The Central, at a national level, and the Autonomous (Junta de Castilla y León) Governments, at a regional level, stand above its competences. The town councils which make up the territorial area of activity of the province of Palencia are depend on it.  The province of Palencia, with a surface area of km2, has 190 municipalities and Town Councils along with the capital city.  The responsabilities of the Provincial Council of Palencia, besides supporting the work of the small town councils, are aimed at increasing the quality of life of the rural population and fostering economic activity and employment, as key tools for avoiding depopulation in rural areas. These competences are partly developed by the rural Promotion and Development department.

Our objectives in the area of Rural Promotion and Development Department  To help the maintenance and the demographic recovery of rural areas.  To favour the profesional training and the work integration, fundamentally, of two groups: the young and women.  To promote the development of strategic sectors with the aim of generating employment in the province: the food-processing industry; tourism; services to the population; renewable energies.  To increase the economic and productive development infrastructures that are crucial in the development of private enterprise: industrial parks; company banks.

A brief description of the province of Palencia: its population 190 municipalities, 173,281 inhabitants, and 8,052km2.  151 municipalities (town councils) have populations of less than 500 inhabitants (79%) Population density  82.62% of the territory has a population density of less than 15 inhab/km2 Population distribution  40.2% of the population lives in rural areas  59.8% lives in urban areas Population development  161 municipalities decreasing in numbers

A brief description of the province of Palencia: its economy This diagram shows the distribution of employment as an indicator of the weight of the different economic sectors:

A brief description of the province of Palencia: its resources  The province of Palencia is made up of 4 natural regions: The Mountains of Palencia, located in the North of the province, makes up the southern foothills of the Cantabrian Mountains. Its traditional activities have been farming and mining. Nowadays this is the region with the greatest tourism development, due to the combination of natural mountain landscapes (Natural Park) and the rich cultural heritage made up of many Romanesque style churches (The Romanesque style of Palencia). Moorlands and valleys; region of transition between the northern mountains and the plains of Tierra de Campos in the South. On the fertile plains of the main rivers (Carrion and Pisuerga) irrigated crops are grown which help to feed the important livestock herds in this region. This in turn provides the area with an important industry specialized in producing milk. Tierra de Campos; occoupying more than half of the provincial territory: it is a territory with few natural resources; Tierra de Campos has been and still is, the main cereal region of Palencia, Castilla y Leon and even Spain; wheat and barley are its main crops. The Cerrato; located to the South, next to the city of Palencia, and its main routes of communication and industrial development areas. The capital of the province is located in this region.

The AGRONATUR project and its implementation in the province of Palencia  The AGRONATUR project means to the Provincial Council of Palencia, a chance for its implementation in a tourist resource with an enormous tourist potential: the Canal de Castilla.  The Canal de Castilla, is an eighteenth-century engineering feat, built to transport the wheat produced in the fields of Castile to the port of Santander (Northern Spain).  The Canal de Castilla is 207 kilometres long and runs through almost the entire provincial territory, from North to South, as far as the province of Valladolid.  It consists of three branches, 49 locks, 61 bridges, 6 aqueducts, and countless buildings on its banks, such as stores, flour mills, or water mills.  Its impressive work of architecture and engineering, and its historical value, have led it to be catalogued as an Asset of Cultural Interest in the category of Historical Artistic Monument.  At present there are many plans and programmes being undertaken on the Canal de Castilla to develop its tourist potential, in particular: cultural tourism, environmental tourism and outdoor tourist activities.  In our area, we are developing some of these projects: A Plan of tourist Excellence, with investments in the recovery of locks for navigation, buildings, tourist signposting; creation of equipment, etc..  A training programme funded by the ESF, with the aim of training young people as “Tour guides" and "Travel Agency Employees."  Our wish has been to contribute to the AGRONATURa project, in the assurance that it will contribute to the development of various tourism activities that will be promoted such us: canoeing, cycling, hiking, horseback riding, etc..  The Agronatura project will give us the opportunity to create a new training of specialists in "Active Tourism", initially linked to the Canal de Castilla, to be then transfered to other resources in the province of Palencia.

Activities already undertaken by the AGRONATUR Project 1.- Activities to raise awareness and information: a) Spreading information activities: - The first pamphlet of the project has been edited and distributed among all potential beneficiaries: municipalities, business associations, centers of tourism initiatives, vocational training centres, etc.. - The project information has been published on the WEB of the Provincial Council of Palencia. - A press release has been issued on the objectives and actions of the project to the local newspapers: the Diario Palentino, the Norte de Castilla and the Carrion. b) Activities to raise awareness: a data base has been created that includes all the potential entities that may benefit from the project and who we are contacting in this phase. - We have scheduled the celebration of a day for the diffusion of the project to the network of tourism information of the Canal Castilla. - Information about the project together with a questionnaire has been sent to the following institutions and tourism professionals: Valladolid University: Campus of Palencia Local authorities: municipalities of the Canal de Castilla Tourism companies Agents of Local development of the province Local Action Groups and development associations Business associations Junior associations Associations of rural women Companies in the tourism industry located in the Canal de Castilla

Project activities developed by the AGRONATUR Project 2. Collaboration Agreements We are developing partnerships with: -- ACATUR -- The association of villages bordering the Canal de Castilla -- The association of Castile ADEC CANAL -- The School of Tourism -- The ONCE Foundation 3. MANUAL of Outdoor Tourist Activities Updating and translation of the contents of the manual is in process 4. Questionnaire A database has been created with all the institutions that could benefit from the project. The questionnaire will be sent to them, along with a cover letter and information about the project.