This project aims to advertise about the environmental assets found in the LAG Campoder at the Murcia Region (SE Spain), and to quantify using social and economic techniques the degree in which these assets are perceived by local population. FutureWater is responsible for the characterization and description of three representative protected areas located in the LAG Campoder.

The Local Action Group (LAG) Campoder CAMPODER at the Murcia Region (SE Spain) is an Association for Rural Development which aims to develop programs, projects and actions for the comprehensive and sustainable development of its territory. These actions encompass activities for the conservation and restoration of the environment, the exploitation and promotion of local resources (agriculture, industry), the improvement of the rural infrastructure, and the conservation and strengthening of the historical, artistic and cultural heritage.

During the period 2014-2020, some of the LAGs at the Murcia Region and their development strategies are going to be redesigned to fit with the priorities set out in the Rural Development Programme and the Europe 2020 Strategy. In this framework, new policies of development should pursue the sustainable management and use of the natural resources, and allow a balanced and inclusive economic development in regards to peri-urban areas.

This project aims to advertise about the environmental assets found in the LAG Campoder, and to quantify using social and economic techniques the degree in which these assets are perceived by local population. The projects has been organized in two tasks:

  • Characterization and description of three representative protected areas located in the GAL Campoder. FutureWater is in charge of this task.
  • Identification, and economic assessment and valuation by choice experiments, of the main management alternatives. This task is addressed by the Polytechnic University of Cartagena and University of Murcia.

A book titled “Caracterization and assessment of development preferences of the main protected areas located at the LAG Campoder” (in Spanish) has been published and can be downloaded from here. A video has been also edited in which the peculiarities and environmental assets of the study region are highlighted.

For more information, please contact with the PI of the project, Francisco Alcón (Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena) or Sergio Contreras (FutureWater).