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Department of Geography, Urban Studies and Land Planning- University of Cantabria (Spain)
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June 2020
XI SPANISH AND I IBEROAMERICAN CONFERENCES OF BIOGEOGRAPHY
The XI
Spanish Conference and I Iberoamerican Conference of Biogeography,
organized by GIMENA and scheduled to be held between 22 and 27 June,
have been cancelled as a result of the health crisis generated by the
COVID-19. However, both the
proceedings book and the
Fieldwork guide
have been published in digital format and can be downloaded free of
charge by participants and people interested by the subject (see
downloads area).
March 2020
TALK "SURF, NATURE AND CULTURE"
Juan José González Trueba gave the talk "Surf: Nature and Culture" to a group of students of the "IES La Albercia" in Santander within the program "Mar de fondo" ("swell") organized by the Faculty of Education of our university.
HEAD OF DEPARTMENT
Juan
Carlos García Codron has been elected director of the Department of
Geography, Urban Studies and Land Planning. He will have the support of
February and March 2020
ACTIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY
Througnout February and March, Virginia Carracedo Martín and Sara
Rodríguez Coterón have pàrticipated in various events organized to
commemorate the "International Day of Women and Girls in Science".
On February
The following week, professors Virginia
Carracedo Martín and Olga de Cos went to the
"Valle de camargo" High School where they
explained to the students their professional
careers and the line of research they are
developing on the sustainability of metroplitan
areas.
Finally, Virginia Carracedo Martín visited the
"Arenas" School of Escobedo de Camargo to talk
with the children of Early Childhood Education
and the first stage of Primary Education about
"The first female geographers and adventurers".
February 2020
PROJECT "EDUCATION, MARINE ENVIRONMENT AND OCEANIC CULTURE FOR SUSTAINABILITY"
Juan
José González Trueba leads the project "Education, Marine Environment
and Ocean Culture for Sustainability (UNESCO H. 2030)".
PARTICIPATION IN A COLLOQUIUM WITHIN THE SURFEA CANTABRIA FESTIVAL
Juan José González Trueba took part in the colloquium devoted to marine
areas and sustainability that was scheduled within the "Surfea
Cantabria" festival.
November 2019
GLOBAL CHANGE TALK
The "Fluviarium Ecomuseum" of Liérganes (Cantabria) organized a cycle of lectures on climate change. The inauguration was led by Juan Carlos García Codron with the talk entitled "Global change, local resonses. A reflection based on Cantabria's environmental issues".
October 2019
OPENING SESSION OF THE MASTER IN MOUNTAIN AREAS MANAGEMENT
Invited by the Consortium of Public Universities of Catalonia, Professor
Juan Carlos García Codron gave the inaugural lecture of the 2nd year of
the Master in Mountain Areas Management held at the University of
Lleida, entitled "The management of the mountain areas: new challenges
for old landscapes".
September 2019
PARTICIPATION IN THE ACTIVITIES OF THE EUROPEAN NIGHT OF RESEARCHERS
EOn Friday, September 27, Virginia Carracedo Martín and Juan Carlos García Codron organized the environmental gymkhana "Explore the nature of your city" within the program of "The European Night of Researchers". Aimed at family groups, the activity was attended by the collaboration of the EcoCampus Office and took place on the Campus of the University of Cantabria.
July 2019
PARTICIPATION IN THE MEDITERRANEAN PALYNOLOGICAL SOCIETIES SYMPOSIUM- MEDPALYNO 2019
Sara Rodríguez Coterón, Virgnia Carracedo, Juan Carlos G. Codron and several colleagues from the Autonomous University of Barcelona participated in the Medpalyno symposium held in Bordeaux (France) between 9 and 11 of July.
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In
this event they presented two papers produced within the research
project GeoHist18k: "Glacial refugia, postglacial expansion and
biogeographic dynamics of Abies alba in the Iberian Pyrenees: pollen
and genetic data" and "Fire regime and land use shifts in a mountain
territory of Cantabria (Spain) from the mid-Holocene to the present. El
Cueto de la Espina peatbog".
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GRADUATION DAY. 2015-2019 CLASS OF GEOGRAPHY AND LAND PLANNING
Virginia Carracedo Martín and Juan Carlos García Codron have been elected patrons of the Degree of Geography and Land Planning by the 2015-2019 class students. For this reason, they gave a farewell address dedicated to the students at the graduation event that took place on July 5 at the Main Auditorium of the University.
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June 2019
LECTURE IN THE SEMINAR "ARCHITECTURE AND LANDSCAPE"
The Association for the Conservation of Traditional Architecture "Tajamar" and the College of Architects of Cantabria organized the seminar "Architecture and Landscape" with the motto "The Bay in the Memory: cinema, literature, art, architecture, archaeology and cultural landscape". The seminar included differernt activities that took place from 27 to 29 of June at the headquarters of the CASYC Foundation and at the College of Architects of Cantabria. Juan Carlos García Codron intervened in the session dedicated to "The mountain seen from the Bay" delivering the lecture "The Bay, the architecture of a living landscape".
SUMMER COURSE ON FOREST FIRES
Between June 19 and 21, the course entitled
"Rural development, forest management and fire: challenges and
experiences"
May 2019
PARTICIPATION IN Ist EUROPEAN BIOMETEOROLOGISTS' REGIONAL MEETING
In the
last week of May, the first Regional Meeting of European
Biometeorologits was held in Warsaw. At this event, Domingo Rasilla
Álvarez presented the contribution “Weather influence on zoo visitation in
Cabárceno (Northern Spain)” prepared in collaboration with Sonia Crespo
Barquín.
LECTURE IN PUENTE VIESGO
On May 23 Juan Carlos García Codron
was invited to lecture on the construction of the landscape and how this
construction has been influenced by human intervention. His talk was
entitled "The 'natural' landscapes of Cantabria (ecosystems and human
construction)" and took place at the Puente Viesgo former railway
station within the cycle "The Thursdays of the Station" organized by Naturea.
DISSERTATION ON THE FORESTS OF CANTABRIA
Juan Carlos García Codron gave the conference "The forests of Cantabria: 70 centuries of a shared story" within "Cultural Wednesdays" organized by the Student's Delegation of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Cantabria.
April and May 2019
GUIDED TOURS ALONG THE NORTHERN PILGRIMAGE PATH
On April 14 and May 12, two guided tours were organized in the framework of the "Meetings on the Northern Paths" organized by the Ministry of Culture of the Regional Government of Cantabria. The first tour, entitled "The construction of the coastal landscapes of Cantabria", was carried out between Pedreña and Punta Rabiosa, south of the Bay of Santander, while the second, "Territory, heritage and landsacpes in the valleys of Cantabria", was from Muñorrodero (Val de San Vicente) to Cades (Herrerías). Throughout the tours, Juan Carlos García Codron offered a series of short talks proposing keys to the interpretation of the landscape and the natural heritage of the region.
March 2019
WORLD METEOROLOGICAL DAY LECTURE
On
monday, March 25, Juan Carlos García Codron gave the lecture entitled “Our
weather, between the Sun and the Earth” in the Territorial Delegation of
the Spanish Meteorological Agency (AeMet) in Cantabria.
This activity was carried out on the occasion of the World
Meteorologiacl Day whose motto this year was "The Sun, the Earth and the
Weather".
PARTICIPATION IN A TV PROGRAM
Virginia Carracedo Martín participated in the program "Agrosphere"
that the channel "La 2-TVE" dedicates to the Primary sector and the
rural environment. The broadcast was devoted to the episode of wildfires
that the region has suffered over the previous weeks and can be seen
though the following link::
PARTICIPATION IN A ROUNDTABLE ON FOREST FIRES
On saturday, March 9, the meeting entitled "The fire in the woodlands of Cantabria" took place in Selaya (Cantabria). Virginia Carracedo participated in the roundtable with which the event was closed.
February 2019
INTERVIEW ON WILDFIRES IN THE DIARIO MONTAÑÉS
Virginia Carracedo Martín gives an interview to the journalist Ángela
casado for the Diario Montañés on the occasion of the severe episode of
fires that is being recorded in Cantabria.
January 2019
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE 9TH BIENNIAL CONFERENCE OF THE INTERNATIONAL BIOGEOGRAPHY SOCIETY
Sara Rodríguez Coterón has participated in the conference of the International Society of Biogeography that took place in Malaga between the 8th and the 12th of January. Two contributions realized in collaboration, "New data about pollen and fire regime in Cantabria (Northern Spain) from the Late Glacial to the present" and "Towards a stomata based atmospheric CO2 reconstruction using Pinus and Abies Holocene remains in the Iberian Peninsula", allowed to present some recent results of the project "Biogeographical history (Cantabrian Mountains, Central System and Pyrenees): 18000 years on climatic and anthropogenic changes on indicator forest species".
November 2018
Participation in the workshop Exchange of local experiences of SmarterLabs
On November 8 Juan Carlos García Codron participated in the "
SmarterLabs Project Workshop: Exchange of local experiences and results
from the Smarter Labs project " organized by Cecilia Ribalaygua. The
objective of this project is to develop practical strategies to
anticipate two risks found in the implementation of participatory
innovations: the limitations to apply changes in socio-technical systems
and the exclusion of certain social groups.
October 2018
PRESIDENCY OF THE SPANISH CLIMATOLOGY ASSOCIATION
Domingo Rasilla Álvarez took part in the XI International Congress of the AEC, "The climate: air, water, land and fire" that was held in Cartagena (Murcia) between October 17 and 19. He presented several communications, made in collaboration with other researchers from both GIMENA and other universities.
During the Congress, the Spanish Climatology
Association convened an Assembly to renew its
board of directors. After the corresponding
vote, Domingo Rasilla was elected President of
the AEC, a position that I will hold for a
period of four years.
September 2018
RESEARCH PROJECT ON THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE BROWN BEAR
Juan Carlos García Codron, member of GIMENA and trustee of the Brown
Bear Foundation, is participating in the research project "Review of the
expected effects of climate change on the brown bear and plant
formations of greater trophic importance for the species and potential
strategies for adaptation. " .
This project is carried out through subsidies
granted to entities of the Third Sector or non-governmental
organizations that develop activities of social and environmental
interest. Through its results it will contribute to support commitments
given by Spain to the European Union or other international
organizations, particularly those related to the fight against climate
change and the mitigation and adaptation of its effects on ecosystems.
It will also facilitate compliance with the guiding criteria established
in documents of an institutional nature such as the Strategic Plan of
the Natural Heritage and Biodiversity or the State Plan for Scientific
and Technical Research and Innovation.
July 2018
COMMEMORATIVE ACT IN THE SENATE FOR THE CENTENARY OF THE NATIONAL PARK OF "PICOS DE EUROPA"
On July 3, the commemorative act for the centenary of the Picos de
Europa National Park was held in the old Senate Sessions Hall in Madrid.
It was chaired by the King and also participated the President of the
Senate, Pío García-Escudero, the Minister of Ecological Transition,
Teresa Ribera and other national and regional authorities. Juan Carlos
García Codron, who is a member of the Board of the National Park,
participated in the event representing the University of Cantabria.
June and july 2018
SUMMER COURSES ORGANIZED BY GIMENA RESEARCHERS
As usual, the group has had a strong presence in the summer courses of the University of Cantabria. This year the offer consisted in the organization and the teaching of two monographic courses, a workshop and a cycle of lectures.
Between the 20th and the 22nd of June the summer course "New scenarios and new challenges in the management of forest fires: the prescribed fires" was offered in the Degrees Room of the UC Law School. It was directed by Virginia Carracedo Martín and, as in previous editions, combined the lectures, discussion sessions and half a day of fieldwork.
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Throughout the week of June 25 to 28, a
series of lectures was offered at the Casa de Cultura de Potes. During
the sessions, which were followed by lively debates, various issues
related to the heritage of Liébana and the Picos de Europa were
analyzed: toponymy, artistic heritage, mining roads and management of
the mountain areas. This activities were organized by Juan Carlos García
Codron and the last dissertation was in charge of Concepción Diego
Liaño, both members of GIMENA.
During the 6th and 7th of July, the Summer
Course entitled "Natura 2000 and brown bear: conflicts and
opportunities" was held at the Argüeso Castle (Hermandad de Campoo de
Suso). It was directed by Juan Carlos García Codron and had the support
of the Brown Bear Foundation. After a first theoretical part, the course
adopted the format of a participation workshop based on the
contributions of a number of agents involved in conservation and local
development policies.
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Finally, and within the program of
complementary activities to the Summer Courses of the UC, on July 19
Virginia Carracedo offered at El Torco de Suances the workshop "The
Asian hornet (Vespa velutina): characteristics, impacts and
solutions". ".
Junio 2018
CONFERENCIA SOBRE LOS PAISAJES DE CANTABRIA
The Association "Tajamar" for the
Conservation of Traditional Architecture and the Architects Association
of Cantabria have organized the cycle "Architecture and Landscape.
It took place between June 21 and 23 at the
"Espacio Ricardo Lorenzo" in Santander and was entitled "Traditional
architecture, conservation and restoration". In the first session,
dedicated to the cultural landscape, Juan Carlos García Codron gave a
lecture on "The formation of the landscape of Cantabria"
.
May 2018
LECTURE ON FOREST FIRES
Between the 4th and the 6th of May the III National Encounter of Forest Firemen took place in El Espinar (Segovia). Virginia Carracedo was invited to participate in this event where she gave a lecture entitled "Fire and historical forest fires in the Cantabrian mountain. Paleoenvironmental and documentary evidences".
April 2018
ORGANIZATION OF THE 11 SPANISH AND 1ST IBEROAMERICAN CONFERENCE OF BIOGEOGRAPHY
The X Spanish Congress of Biogeography, which was organized by the geographers of the University of Castilla la Mancha, took place in Almagro (Ciudad Real) throughout the last week of April.
Virginia Carracedo and Juan Carlos García Codron participated in this
event, where they presented several communications and assumed the
commitment to organize the next one, which will take place in Cantabria
in the year 2020 and will acquire international character.
January to october 2018
PARTICIPATION IN THE STUDY "CONTENTS OF THE CATALOG OF RELEVANT LANDSCAPES OF CANTABRIA"
Concepción Diego Liaño, Virginia Carracedo Martín and Juan Carlos García
Codron, researchers of GIMENA, have participated in the drafting team of
the aforementioned study, directed by Leonor de la Puente and executed
on behalf of the regional Ministry of Universities and Research,
Environment and Social Policy.
The aim of the study has been the
identification, delimitation and characterization of the most relevant
landscapes of Cantabria, the description of the values that justify
their special relevance and the detection of their current and
foreseeable dynamics. The document will serve as reference to the
Regional Government for the selection, delimitation and definitive
characterization of the relevant landscapes in order to comply with the
provisions of the Law of Cantabria 4/2014 of the Landscape
December 2017
COLLABORATION IN THE CAMPAIGN TO PUBLICIZE THE VALUE OF THE CANTABRIAN PEAT BOGS
The Center for Environmental Research (CIMA) of the Ministry of Environment of the Government of Cantabria, has planned a set of actions to raise awareness of the value of peat bogs in the region. A first action, developed in 2016 with the collaboration of GIMENA, allowed the creation of a path and the placement of several informative posters along the route .
On December 16th a new environmental volunteering day was organized in
Quintana de Toranzo with the support of GIMENA. Framed in the volunteer
program Provoca of the Government of Cantabria, the activity
aimed to complete the information panels and was accompanied by a series
of talks on the management of pastures and peat bogs .
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August 2017
PARTICIPATION IN THE ACCREDITATION OF THE GEOGRAPHY CAREER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF COSTA RICA
Juan Carlos García Codron has moved to San José (Costa Rica) to be part of the international committee of experts in charge of the external evaluation of the Geography career at the University of Costa Rica (UCR). The participation in this committee was the result of an invitation from the SINAES (National System of Accreditation of Higher Education of Costa Rica) and took place during the last week of August.
July 2017
SAMPLING CAMPAIGN IN THE FIR FORESTS OF THE PYRENEES
Summer 2017
PARTICIPATION OF GIMENA IN THE OFFER OF SUMMER COURSES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CANTABRIA
Once again, the GIMENA group has participated in the summer courses of the University of Cantabria, organizing and teaching two monographic courses and one cultural activity.
Between the 5th and the 7th of July the
course "From extinction to the integral management of forest fires:
experiences and proposals" took place in Santander under the direction
of Virginia Carracedo.
In the Castle of Argüeso, located in
Hermandad de Campoo de Suso, the course "The habitat of the Cantabrian
brown bear: frontiers and corridors" was organized by Juan Carlos García
Codron in collaboration with the Fundación Oso Pardo/Brown Bear
Foundation .
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Finally, between
September 22 and 30 a cultural activity was offered under the title of
"the landscapes of Liébana, what landscape do we want?". This activity
was coordinated by Juan Carlos García Codron and took place in Potes.
The program included lectures entitled "Landscapes of Liébana",
"Landscape and landscape policies" and a landscape interpretation
workshop, activities that were in charge of Leonor de la Puente, Sergio
Martínez Martinez and Juan Carlos García Codron.
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Abril 2017
LECTURE
On April 5 Domingo Rasilla Álvarez gave the talk entitled "Volcanoes, climate, hunger and chaos". This act was organized by the Delegation of Students of the Faculty of Philosophy and Arts within the program of activities "Cultural Wednesdays".
Marzo 2017
ROUND TABLE
On March 17, a round table entitled "Forest fires in Cantabria" took place at the Ecomuseum Fluviarium de Liérganes. It was organized by the Nature and Man Foundation and Virginia Carracedo participated in it. Through several interventions and the subsequent colloquium, it aimed to disseminate the typology of fires as well as their effects on ecosystems. It also allowed to know and discuss the lines of action proposed by the Government of Cantabria, through the PEPLIF.
December 2016
RESEARCH ON THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE
CANTABRIAN
HERPETOFAUNA
Juan
Carlos García Codron, member of the Scientific
Committee of the Brown Bear Foundation, is
participating in a research project to monitor
the situation of amphibians in the Cantabrian
Range in order to assess their interest as
indicators of the effects of climate change.
This project is developed through an agreement established between the Brown Bear Foundation and the Spanish Herpetological Association and requires obtaining data about location and status of amphibian populations across the Cantabrian Mountains, their application as indicators of climate change and the proposal of a Cantabrian network of "points of interest for amphibians" (ponds, water troughs, areas to restore, etc.) in order to contribute to their conservation and improve their conditions as habitat for amphibians.
PARTICIPATION IN THE TV PROGRAM "THE PROTECTIVE FOREST. FORESTS OF WAR" IN TVE2
On December 4 the program of TVE2 “The Protective Forest” was dedicated to "the forests of war". The aim of this chapter is to reflect on the effects of war on an environment, the forest, which usually goes unnoticed during and after the conflicts. The effects of artillery fire on Verdun and the massive use of dioxin-contaminated defoliants in Vietnam are some of the cases discussed in the documentary.
Juan Carlos García Codron, director of GIMENA, participated in this chapter explaining some of the problems of forest recovery in Vietnam and the impact caused by the arrival of 750,000 Rwandans who crossed the border fleeing the war and settled in the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Noviembre 2016
COLLABORATION IN A CAMPAIGN FOR THE VALUATION OF
CANTABRIAN PEATLANDS
The Center for Environmental Research (CIMA) of the
cantabrian ministry of Environment, has planned a set of actions to
raise awareness of the value of peatlands in the region. A first action
has been the creation of a set of signs and posters in which, among
other informations, the results obtained by GIMENA in the peat bog of La
Molina are disseminated.
The installation of these posters was done throughout
a day of the “Provoca” environmental volunteer program and has been
accompanied by various talks about the peatlands, their ecological
importance and their interest as a source of palaeoenvironmental
information.
28th WEEK OF ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT IN
COVADONGA DISTRICT (TORRELAVEGA)
TALK-DEBATE: " FOREST FIRES IN CANTABRIA AND
NORTH OF THE PENINSULA: PROBLEMS AND SEARCH FOR
SOLUTIONS
Between 21st and 27th November, the 28th Week of Ecology and Environment took place in Torrelavega. Organized by the Neighborhood Association Besaya, Ecologists in Action and the Scouts Group Covadonga, these weeks have become a must for anyone interested in the environment.
This
year one session was devoted to inform and
debate the problem of forest fires in Cantabria
and northern peninsula and to discuss possible
solutions. This activity was made possible by
the participation of Virginia Carracedo Martín
(member of GIMENA), Mario Quevedo, ecologist at
the University of Oviedo and José Antonio
García, president of the Professional
Association of Auxiliary Technicians of Natural
Environment of Cantabria.
VIRGINIA CARRACEDO, RESEARCHER OF GIMENA, NAMED
ECOCAMPUS COORDINATOR
Virginia Carracedo Martín, researcher of the group,
has become the Coordinator of the Ecocampus program belonging to the
Vice-rectorate of Campus, Services and
Sustainability of the University of Cantabria.
The Ecocampus program reflects the University of Cantabria's commitment to Agenda 21 and pursues two main goals:
· To improve the environmental situation of the campus of the University of Cantabria
·
To raise the awareness of
the university community to encourage participation and involvement in
finding solutions to global and local environmental conflicts.
With this objective,
Ecocampus develops numerous actions related to
environmental management, sustainable urbanism,
participation and social projection and
environmental research which involve the entire
university community and, by extension, all
citizens of Cantabria.
June to november 2016
PARTICIPATION IN WRITTING OF THE BASES FOR THE IDENTIFICATION AND DELIMITATION OF EXCEPTIONAL AND SINGULAR LANDSCAPES OF CANTABRIA
Several
researchers from GIMENA are collaborating in the
"Technical Assistance for the making of bases to
identify and delimit the exceptional and unique
landscapes of Cantabria". This project is being
developed for the General Direction of Land
Planning and Urban Environmental Assessment of
the Government of Cantabria under the direction
of Professor Leonor de la Puente and has three
parts:
1.
Writing of the theoretical and methodological
bases for the identification of the exceptional
and unique landscapes of Cantabria
2.
Identification and characterization of
landscapes
3.
Delimitation of the exceptional and unique
landscapes of Cantabria
September 2016
PARTICIPATION IN THE SEMINAR "WILDFIRE AND FOREST MANAGEMENT IN THE CANTABRIAN REGION"
On September 15 the Seminar "Wildfire and forest management in the Cantabrian Region" organized by the College of Forestry Engineers and the College of Forestry Technical Engineers and Graduates in Forestry and Natural Environment has taken place in Oviedo.
The seminar, that filled the room with 168 participants, was organized in a keynote speech and three thematic sessions, with the participation of a wide range of experts and stakeholders (farmers, forestry engineers, conservationists, technical staff, researchers, foresters, lawyers, firemen ...)
Carracedo Virginia Martin, participated in the first session, "The problem of forest fires: characterization". She showed the main features of both historical and present wildfires of the region and some of the aspects that are getting worse -and which must be taken into account for the future- as the largest fires or their effects on woodlands and protected natural areas.
SAMPLING CAMPAIGN IN
CANTABRIAN PEAT BOGS
A sampling
campaign was carried out in the peat bogs of La
Molina (Puente Viesgo) and Cueto Espina (Luena)
during September.
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These
tasks have been made under the project
“Biogeographical history (Cantabrian Mountains,
Central System and Pyrenees): 18000 years on
climate and anthropogenic changes on indicative
forest species” and have been made possible
through the collaboration of a dozen
researchers.
One of the main objectives of the project is to
assess the consequences of forest fires in
vegetation cover and to establish common
patterns in the past taking into account the
climate and human activity. The results have
been excellent and will allow us to analyze the
evolution of vegetation, the intensity of fires
and climate in the valley of the Pas to an age
of 18,000 years.
June and July 2016
SUMMER COURSES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CANTABRIA
GIMENA organizes two summer courses and a conference on the brown bear and FOREST FIRES
The first of them "Gestión del Habitat y conservación del oso pardo" ("Habitat management and conservation of the brown bear", lasted 15 hours, including a field trip through an area frequented by the brown bear, and took place during 17 and 18 June in Potes. During the course, which attracted more than 40 participants and forced to hang the sign of "complete" the state of knowledge on the habitats of interest for wildlife have been presented and their management methods discussed. Doing this we seek fuel the debate about the possibilities and alternatives for coexistence with wild expecies under current policies for sustainable rural development.
The second course "Incendios
forestales en la Montaña Cantábrica. Buscando
soluciones"
(Forest fires in the Cantabrian Mountains.
Checking for solutions) took place between June
29 and July 1 in the Graduate Hall of the
Faculty of Law in Santander and lasted 20 hours.
Its goal has been twofold: first to contribute
to the visibility of the fires of this
particular area, which are very little known,
and secondly, put on the table the major issues
and points of conflict between the different
actors and sectors involved helping to promote a
debate to help find solutions.
The course, which has
combined lectures, discussion sessions and
half-day field work has been very successful and
the maximum number of expected participants was
completed.
Finally,
two
meetings have
been organized
in the Castle of Argüeso (Hermandad
de Campoo de Suso-
Cantabria) on Friday 8 and
July 15, also in relation to wildlife.
Entitled
"Coexistence with the great
wildlife: challenges
and opportunities" they have
allowed to explain
the issue of wildlife and
open a successful space for
discussion with the local
population
and
skateholders.
April 2016
LECTURE: HISTORICAL STORMS
On April 29, on the occasion of the feast of St. Isidore of Seville, patron saint of our faculty, Domingo Rasilla delivered the lecture "historical storms", issue that is part of one of the most recent lines of research GIMENA.
RESEARCH RESULTS PRESENTED AT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE EGU
On April 21 we have presented the latest results obtained from two research lines in which we have been working for a long time: forest fires and pollution and forest fires and climate.
The first one "Forest fires and PM10 pollution: the March 2012 case in Northern Spain" shows how the fires contribute to higher average levels of PM10 in March 2012.
The second "Increasing late winter-early spring fire activity in Northern Spain: climate change or human footprint?", presented as a poster, asks whether the recent evolution of forest fires in the northwest provinces of Spain and northern Portugal are the result of a worsening of weather conditions or has more to do with changes in human activities.
March 2016
LECTURE: WILDFIRES IN THE CANTABRIAN REGION: PROBLEMS, CAUSES AND SOLUTIONS
Although until now forest fires of northern Spain are little known to most of the population, the recent episode of fires occurred in December 2015 in the Cantabrian region has generated a growing social demand for a better understanding of this problem in the region.
The talk "Fire in the Cantabrian region: problems, causes and solutions", issued on March 9 in Bilbao at the headquarters of Ekologistak Martxan by Virginia Carracedo, tried to answer some of the questions that arise around this issue, which are numerous, as it was found from the ensuing discussion -that lasted over one hour and a half.
THE THESIS OF VIRGINIA CARRACEDO MARTÍN, MEMBER OF THE GROUP, RECEIVE THE FIRST PRICE OF THE SOCIAL COUNCIL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CANTABRIA IN THE AREA OF HUMANITIES
Virginia Carracedo Martín, a member of GIMENA, has been awarded by the Social Council of the University of Cantabria Juan Maria Pares for her thesis "Forest fires and fire management in Cantabria" in its XV Research Award (2015 edition).
February 2016
LECTURE:
THE WINDSTORM OF FEBRUARY 1941, AN OUTSTANDING
EPISODE OF SOUTH WIND?
On
February 23, Domingo Rasilla, Professor at the
Department of Geography, Urban Studies and Land
Planning of the University of Cantabria and
member of GIMENA, gave the first lecture of a
series organized by the Municipality of
Santander to commemorate the 75th anniversary of
the fire that destroyed the historic town.
Our
colleague, a specialist in climatology with a
long career in the study of south wind -the
responsible for the rapid spread of fire through
the city of Santander in February 1941, gave a
lecture entitled "The windstorm of February
1941, an outstanding episode of soth wind?".
January 2016
LECTURE - DISCUSSION: FOREST FIRES IN CANTABRIA: FEATURES AND EVOLUTION. WHAT CAN WE DO?
On Saturday, March 16, 2015, about a hundred people attended the lecture-on forest fires offered by Virginia Carracedo Martin in the Fluviarium of Liérganes, as part of the LIFE Project Miera. For nearly three hours, the duration of the lecture-discussion, Virginia Carracedo explained to the audience the evolution of fires in Cantabria between 1991 and 2010, the study period encompassed in her recent doctoral thesis "Forest fires and fire management in Cantabria", and the main characteristics of fires in the region were explained, highlighting their particularities and significance in relation to national and European context.
During the talk, promoted by Nature and Man Foundation in the wake of the catastrophic episode of fires happened during the second half of December in the North of Spain, the disturbing trends of different indicators were highlighted, pointing to major conflicts and skateholders and, given the limited success of current management model -focused on extinction- , the need for a new model that incorporates active prevention was put into evidence.
After the presentation, an intense debate took place in which local population, technicians, professionals, researchers and environmental agents exposed their respective points of view and proposed solutions and in which the General Director of Environment, Mr Antonio Lucio, and the Chief of Forest Service, Mr Javier Espinosa also participated.
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December 2015
DIARIO MONTAÑES 27/12/2015
Op-ed
November 2015
XI NATIONAL AND IX INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON NATURE AND ENVIRONMENT ORGANIZED BY THE SPANISH CIVIL GUARD
The XI National and IX Interational Conference on Nature and Environment have been held in Santander between the 9th and the 13th of November.
As in previous years, the activity has counted with many participants, more than 400 people. Throughout the conference they could attend the interventions of about twenty speakers whose presentations are available on the following website: http://jornadasnaturalezaguardiacivil.com/?page_id=1978
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION PROCESS RELATED TO THE RIVER AND COASTAL SPECIAL AREAS OF CONSERVATION (SAC)
During this month some members of the group have been involved in the meetings convened by the Directorate of Natural Environment (belonging to the Council of Rural Environment, Fisheries and Food) of the Government of Cantabria.
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The working documentation related to these meetings can be read and
downloaded at the following links:
-
Technical basis
developed by the
Institute
of Environmental Hydraulics :
http://natura2000.ihcantabria.com
-
Decrees
drafts of
Management Plans:
www.cantabria.es
(Nature
and Environment sections).
The process
is public.
If
you are interested in
participating, you can request
the questionnaires
at
dgmontes@cantabria.es
November 30
is the deadline
to send them.
October 2015
PARTICIPATION
IN THE
6th
International
Wildland
Fire
Conference
Virginia Carracedo Martín
and Juan Carlos García Codron participate in the
6th
International Wildland Fire Conference held in Alpensia- Pyeongchang (South Korea) with some results of the research
project
Carracedo, Virginia; Ceballos, Carmen; Garmendia, Carolina; Puente, Leonor de la; Rivas, Victoria; Vázquez, Iago (2015): Burnings and wildfire in rural culture: the Nansa Valley (Cantabria, Northern Spain).
Carracedo Martín, Virginia (2015): Studying the fires of the past to understand the present and manage future. The case of Cantabria (Northern Spain).
García Codron, Juan Carlos (2015): Reconstructing the history of fires in Northern Spain. Methodological considerations from a multi-proxy approach.
More information on the Conference at https://en.wildfire2015.kr/page/home/index
Spanish participants at the conference
The
doctoral thesis of
VIRGINIA
CARRACEDO
MARTIN,
Member OF THE GROUP,
AWARDED BY
THE SPANISH
ROYAL ACADEMY
OF DOCTORS
WITH
the first
RESEARCH
prize
IN THE AREA
OF HUMANITIES
Virginia Carracedo Martin, a member of GIMENA group, has been awarded by the RADE with the First Doctoral Thesis Price in the field of Humanities in its 2015 edition.
The thesis,
titled "Forest
fires and fire management in
Cantabria"
has been
directed by
Concepción
Diego
Liaño and
Juan Carlos
Garcia Codron
and
presented
on
June 3, 2015
at the
University of Cantabria.
