Citizen Science Workshops in the GarMultiRisk Project

On January 16 and 17, two citizen science workshops were held to gather oral accounts of past geological events in the Garrotxa region. These sessions took place at two different locations: the Plenary Hall of Montagut and Can Trona, in la Vall d’en Bas. Organized by the Centre for Territorial Sustainability (CST) and the Garrotxa County Council, in collaboration with the IDAEA-CSIC research institute, the workshops are part of the GarMultiRisk project, which aims to carry out a multi-hazard analysis of natural phenomena affecting the region. The goal is to study the natural hazards that may occur, understand how they interact, and determine the overall multi-risk level of the territory, based on the exposure of people, infrastructure, and assets to these hazards.

These workshops are part of the project's initial data collection phase. Thanks to the participation of local knowledge holders from Garrotxa, new information was gathered about natural events that were not previously recorded in official data sources. The natural hazards considered included: rockfalls, collapses, subsidence, landslides, earthquakes, snow avalanches, wildfires, floods, flash floods, volcanic activity, and wet soils.

The importance of the workshops lies not only in recording when the events occurred, but also in pinpointing their exact locations. To support this process, A1-sized maps of Garrotxa were printed for the workshops, showing pre-marked points indicating known hazard locations based on data from meteorological and geological institutes. Using these maps, participants were able to share their knowledge and add valuable information.

The next steps of the GarMultiRisk project, which will run until May 2025, include finalizing and consolidating all collected data, identifying interactions between the various natural phenomena, performing statistical analyses, and proposing future scenarios to anticipate how risk in the Garrotxa region could evolve in response to natural hazards.

In the context of global climate change, hazards linked to atmospheric phenomena are expected to become more frequent and intense, thereby increasing both multi-hazard exposure and overall risk in the region. This highlights the urgent need for a deeper understanding of these processes to build more resilient societies for the future.

The GarMultiRisk project is supported by the Fundación Biodiversidad of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, through the call for grants for projects contributing to the implementation of the National Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change (2021–2030).

The GarMultiRisk project is supported by the Fundación Biodiversidad of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, through the call for grants for the implementation of projects contributing to the National Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change (2021–2030).

With the support of: