The town hall of Vegas del Genil in the Vega of Granada hosted yesterday October 21 the Forum Meeting of Experiences within the European Heritage Days organized by the Territorial Delegation of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport of the Andalusian Government. Under the theme “Sustainable Heritage and Challenges to Climate Change”, the event was hosted by the extraordinary municipal space of the Centro de Interpretación de la Vega located in a former dryer of Belicena and perfectly rehabilitated keeping the poplar round roof and white painted brick walls and incorporating other elements of laminated wood. In 4 presentations on historical irrigation, bimi and asparagus crops and poplar, the need to maintain a balance between the historical heritage of the Vega and its profitability in the context of new advances in research and technology but respecting environmental values as guarantors of its sustainability for future generations, and as a brake on continued urban growth, was highlighted.

Among the most important aspects, Professor Martín-Civantos of the University of Granada, coordinator of MemoLab, highlighted the need to value the innumerable ecosystem services provided by farmers and ranchers to the countryside, and to compensate them for them, since society as a whole benefits from them. He also stressed the importance of promoting local markets for products from the Vega as an engine for local development and environmental protection, as an alternative to the large national and international distribution chains. Prof. Gallego, coordinator of LIFE Wood for Futuro, highlighted the environmental and cultural values of poplar, the only crop that has remained in the Vega for almost 150 years, as well as the opportunity that the sector has in the field of sustainable low-carbon construction, where the use of wood is increasing considerably. For their part, the Centro Sur C.S.A. Cooperative and the company Álvaro-Barranco and Agrobobadilla, highlighted the role of crops such as asparagus and bimi in the Vega de Granada as generators of the economy of many families.