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On June 2006, the Center for Territorial Sustainability was founded. Currently, its headquarters are in Cal Monjo (Sant Privat d’en Bas, La Garrotxa, Catalonia, Spain).
The Center for Territorial Sustainability (CST) is an association that promotes a "New Culture of the Territory" (NCT), which means a new way of understanding and relating to the territory.
The association brings together environmental organizations and movements in defense of the territory, university teaching and research staff, economic agents and professionals, citizens in general. From the beginning, the CST aims to consolidate a network of complicities that will allow it to act as a collective agent for observation, dissemination and socialization of new values and behaviors that are compatible with this NCT. The CST acts, when necessary, as a true advocacy group.
WHO
WE ARE
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The technical team:
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The board:
PRESIDENT
Àlex Casademunt
SECRETARY
Llorenç Planagumà
TREASURER
Octavi Bonet
BOARD MEMBERS
Maria Àngels Alió i Margalida Ramis
For some of the projects we also have the collaboration of Miquel Casas (geologist and shepherd, assistant in the tasks for the inventory of geological points), Lluís Graus (communication and design tasks), Jaume Moya (graduate in law and social activist), Marina del Bas (illustrator and graphic designer) and Arnau Lagresa (expert in Geographic Information Systems).
Our story in stages
JUNE 2006
THE FOUNDING OF THE CST
Presentation of the CST by the philosopher Josep Maria Terricabras on June 11, 2006, during the first edition of the ECO.SI fair in Girona.
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2006-2011
EXPANSIVE PHASE
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In its early days, the CST was structured around the motto "Observe, Educate, and Act in favor of a New Culture of the Territory" and created three areas of work:
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The School of the Territory (Educational axis)
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The NCT network (Observational axis)
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The critical network of Territorial Action (Action axis)
The CST received grants from the Directorate General of Citizen Participation and had collaboration agreements with the Department of Environment and Housing, Territorial Policy, Institutional Relations and Citizen Participation, and with the Provincial Council of Girona.
The budgets exceeded €100,000 annually, and there was a solid base of active members. The CST headquarters were established in Sant Gregori (Vall del Llémena).
​Most relevant activities of the period 2006-2011
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2012-2016
DOWNSIZING PHASE
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In this phase, the CST, in the context of public sector budget cuts, ceases to receive subsidies and its budget is significantly reduced. However, the organization maintains its relationship with the Directorate General of Environmental Policies and Natural Environment.
The sustainability observatory for the Girona regions becomes independent, and CST's activities focus on the School of the Territory.
The CST relocates to its current headquarters at Cal Monjo, Sant Privat (Vall d’en Bas - La Garrotxa).
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Most relevant activities of the period 2012-2016
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2017-2024
STABILIZATION PHASE
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In this phase, the CST balances its income sources by securing funding from competitive projects (FECYT, Fundación Biodiversidad). Efforts begin to attract new members and donors to provide greater economic autonomy for the organization.
Regarding activities, the CST focuses on socio-ecological conflicts related to:
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Overuse of natural spaces
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Urban-rural relationships
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Urbanization processes (Metropolitan Area of Barcelona)
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Energy transition (Eudemon Project)
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WHAT DO WE WANT
The main objective of the CST is to promote a New Culture of the Territory (NCT) to achieve a fairer and more sustainable management of the land.
The NCT is defined as:
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A new way, both individual and collective, of understanding and relating to the territory.
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The guiding values must be integrity, sustainability, and equity.
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It should be built through participation and for citizen participation.
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Change processes must occur at a very local level (specific), through the Circles for Territorial Sustainability. Ideally, each of these circles or specific territorial areas should include observers, educators, and social and economic agents who agree on the need to create a New Culture of the Territory (NCT).
How do we do it
"From Conflict to Action: Observe, Educate, and Act"
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Using as a starting point a socio-ecological conflict, and through research and pedagogy, results are found that prompt action, generating a New Culture of the Territory (NCT) and a governance network (Circles of Territorial Sustainability).
Thus, the political representation space that CST aims to promote (rather than merely occupy) is that formed by individuals who, by thinking and acting at the local scale, contribute to thinking and acting at the global scale, thereby contributing to the creation of a universal NCT.
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Territorial custody and management:
A new way of thinking and collectively defining the management of the territory, grounding it in specific projects and spaces, and thus achieving a more democratic, resilient and sustainable management . Common spaces are created between local social agents and specific scientific knowledge in order to share learnings, debate realities and propose actions. It is also important to understand the human relationship with nature as a whole and not as separate entities .
Conservation and management of natural and geological heritage:
Natural and geological heritage are non-renewable natural resources affected by both human and natural factors (such as climate change). It is not only important to conserve them but also to raise awareness about their significance. Furthermore, they play a key role in establishing management strategies, addressing the design, planning, and implementation of these strategies in a multidisciplinary manner. It is essential to consider natural processes as the foundation upon which all other associated socioeconomic aspects are developed.
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Socio-ecological conflicts:
It is a public social dispute in which there is a central environmental-territorial component. In this type of conflict: many different actors are usually involved; they are linked to public issues, such as water management; and put the society-territory relationship on the table. In the CST, socio-ecological conflicts are considered both on a global and local scale, even if they are latent, that is to say, there is no specific project in dispute but there is a problem that generates tension .
​Next, we explain what we understand by the different lines of research that we lead:
With whom we do it?
The work of the CST would not be possible without the network created with other entities, associations, foundations that we list below:
Participation with:
Resilience Earth • Tosca • Xarxa per la Conservació de la Natura • Salvem les Valls • Fundació Emys • Alba Sud • Intrascapelab UPC • Natus girona • Insta tarragona • Plataforma pel transport públic • Aigua és vida • Obrador tercer sector ambiental • Defensa Patrimoni Natural de Catalunya • Xarxa sobirania energètica
Support:
SOSPirineus • Salvem el Volcà - Protegim el Morrot • SCEA – Societat Catalana d’Educació Ambiental • Fundació Vincles • Fundació Alternativa • Repte territorial SL • Limnos • Tosca
“We need acts of restoration, not only for polluted waters and degraded lands, but also for our relationship to the world. We need to restore honor to the way we live, so that when we walk through the world we don’t have to avert our eyes with shame, so that we can hold our heads up high and receive the respectful acknowledgment of the rest of the earth’s beings.”
Robin Wall Kimmerer, "Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants"