The Barbanza Ecosocial Lab presents its model of community-based land management in Santiago
On October 16, Casa RIA hosted a presentation day showcasing six years of work by the Barbanza Ecosocial Lab around sustainable territorial management. The morning institutional event brought together representatives from public administrations and universities, while the evening featured the opening of a public exhibition that will remain on view until January at Casa RIA.
The Barbanza Ecosocial Lab presented the results of a pioneering experience in territorial cooperation, promoted since 2020 by Fundación RIA together with universities, administrations, and community forest associations. The morning’s institutional event was attended by representatives from Spain’s Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), the regional government of Galicia, and the Provincial Council of A Coruña, alongside the project’s partner entities.
Speakers included David Chipperfield, President of Fundación RIA; Lourenzo Fernández Prieto, Scientific Director of CISPAC; Teresa Ágreda, from Fundación Biodiversidad (MITECO); Rosa Ana García, Deputy of the A Coruña Provincial Council; and José Luis Chan, Director General for Forest Planning and Management at the Xunta de Galicia. All underlined the Lab as an example of institutional and civic cooperation to address shared challenges such as wildfires. The session concluded with a technical presentation of the project’s main lines of work by the participating entities.
In the evening, Casa RIA opened to the public the exhibition “Barbanza Ecosocial Lab. A living laboratory for multifunctional management and collective stewardship of the territory”, which will remain open until 24 January 2026. The exhibition brings together panels, maps, photographs, and audiovisual materials highlighting the potential of community forest associations as drivers of sustainable, community-based land management. The programme also includes a cycle of talks, workshops, and activities in Barbanza and Santiago over the coming months.
Recognised by MITECO as one of the 39 exemplary initiatives of Spain’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR) among more than 1,000 funded projects, the initiative is supported by Fundación Biodiversidad and the European Union – NextGenerationEU.
