01 Aug The Congress ‘The Cross-border Green Corridor’ debates in Melgaço on the management of water resources

A dozen Galician and Portuguese experts shared cross-border cooperation strategies around the Rio Minho

A dozen experts from different Galician and Portuguese institutions met last Friday in Melgaço to discuss the management of water resources and cross-border cooperation at the conference ‘Rio Minho: The Cross-border Green Corridor’.

The event was the result of the collaboration between CIM Alto Minho, the Deputation of Pontevedra and the EGTC Rio Minho, and is part of the ‘VIVE_RIO_MINHO’ project, co-financed by POCTEP, which aims to promote the cross-border territory of the Rio Minho as a destination of a sustainable nature.

The congress was opened by Roberto Carrero, Provincial Deputy of Deputation of Pontevedra, Bruno Caldas, First Secretary of the Intermunicipal Executive Secretariat of the CIM Alto Minho, and José Adriano Lima, Vice-President of the Municipal Chamber of Melgaço. In this opening session, the importance of thinking together about the strategy of the Rio Minho and the management of its resources was highlighted, from an economic perspective that considers the environmental dimension.

The congress was made up of three panels. In the first, researchers of the Interdisciplinary Marine and Environmental Research Center of the University of Porto, and from SIMBIENTE, delved into the importance of cross-border collaboration in water quality management and the integrated management of water resources.

In the second panel, experts from the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) and from the Marine Research Institute of the CSIC exposed, on the one hand, models of collaboration in river ecology, and on the other hand, the specific case of fishing in the Rio Minho, which were visited at the close of the congress.

The third panel debated the future of fishing in the Rio Minho, with representatives of the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPFA), the Association of Professionals of Rio Minho and Sea Fishing (APPRMM) and Pesqueiras, the Association of Fishermen of Rio Minho. Before the conclusions, in charge of the Director of the Aquamuseu of Rio Minho, Carlos Antunes, the professor of USC Valerià Paul Carril presented the revision works of the Strategy Rio Minho 2030.

The closing of the congress was carried out by Manoel Batista, President of the Intermunicipal Conseil of the CIM Alto Minho and President of the Municipal Chamber of Melgaço. All assistants (attendees) were able to enjoy a guided visit to the fisheries of the Rio Minho, led by Álvaro Campelo, from the Fernando Pessoa University, with the aim of making known the economic and cultural dimensions of this art of fishing.

Check out the conferencie video here