Euromontana – the European Association of Mountain Areas – coordinates the communication campaign and activities of Montana174 in the 5 mountain regions! You can get in touch directly with us, writing to Maria Carla Lostrangio, Project Manager, carla.lostrangio@euromontana.org.

Learn more here about the regions where the Montana174 campaign and activities take place and our local partners.

Mountain regions

Auvergne -Rhône-Alpes (France)

This is the largest mountain region in Europe, with about 80% of the regional surface covered by mountains and 60% of municipalities that are mountainous. In the region, the mountain economy creates 120,000 direct job opportunities, especially in the tourism and ski sector, engineering and consulting services and construction. This region developed specific programmes (called Operational Programmes) for mountain territories and participates to cross-border cooperation activities and programmes such as the EUSALP strategy, the Alpine Space programme or Interreg France-Italy ALCOTRA.

The centre Europe Direct Isère-Savoie in Grenoble leads Montana174’s activities in the Region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Would you like to get in touch with them to ask more questions about Cohesion Policy in your region? Contact: europedirectiseresavoie@grenoble.fr

Lombardy (Italy)

Situated in the North of Italy, the Lombardy Region is covered at 43% of its surface by mountains and 13% of its population lives in these areas. Also, 12% of all regional businesses are mountainous: they are mainly micro-businesses and cover the building, real estate and metallurgical sectors (50%), trade and crafts (23%) and tourism (12%). Thus far, the Lombardy Region developed several strategy and funds by financing interventions in 23 mountain communities and has worked to develop the Italian “National Strategy of Inner Areas” in mountain territories. It also participates to cross-border and transnational programmes such as Interreg Italy-Switzerland, Interreg Alpine Space, Interreg Adriatic Ionian and is one of the promoter region of the EUSALP strategy.

The Ente Regionale per i Servizi all’Agricoltura e alle Foreste is our regional partner in Lombardy. Want to know more about territorial cohesion in Lombardy? Contact us: ERSAF-Comunicazione@ersaf.lombardia.it; daniela.masotti@ersaf.lombardia.it

Croatia

Here mountains cover 21% of the national surface. In particular, stretching from Slovenia to Albania, the Dinaric Alps forms a narrow arc and allows an easy connection between the coast and the hinterlands. In the last century, mountains suffered from steady exodus of its citizens, and they now have only 11 inhabitants/km2.  Croatia recently developed a New Law on Hilly and Mountainous Areas and it addresses regional competitiveness and territorial cohesion via specific programmes (called Operational Programmes). Both tools are used to promote investments in mountain areas.

The PINS Local Development Agency is Montana174’s contact point in Croatia. Contact PINS to be informed and involved at pins@ri.t-com.hr

Slovenia

In Slovenia, more than 70% of the country’s territory is mountainous and about 40% of its citizens live in mountain areas. Mountain tourism is an important sector for the local economy, with over 1 million overnight stays in May 2019. However, many citizens leave mountains due to lack of job opportunities and educational programmes in these territories. Slovenia participates to programmes such as the Alpine Convention, EUSALP Strategy and Interreg Alpine Space, that all foresee funding and dedicated measures for mountain territories.

Learn more about the regional activities in Slovenia through our local partner: the Regional Development Agency Podravje Region – Maribor. Contact: klavdija.gornik@rra-podravje.si

Aragon Region (Spain)

Located in the North-East part of Spain, the Aragon Region is by 40% of its territory traversed by the Pyrenees and Iberian mountains. Mountain areas are here considered as “very sparsely populated” due to a density of less than 10 inhabitants/km2, and extreme depopulation and fast ageing are growing concerns. To revert these trends, the Aragon Region disposes of specific tools such as the Territorial Planning Strategy of Aragon, the Teruel Investment Fund and the Integrated Territorial Investment in Teruel, that are used to finance innovation, modernisation of small and medium enterprises, deployment of fast internet connection, e-services for schools etc. in mountains.

The Provincial Government of Teruel is our regional partner in the Aragon Region. Would you like to reach out to them to find out more about Cohesion Policy in your region? Contact: lgasconherrero@dpteruel.es