© Consorci Alba-Ter

ALBA-TER CONSORTIUM

Alba-Ter Consortium

The Alba-Ter Consortium (www.albater.org) is a supramunicipal body that is the driving force of activities of cohesion, conservation, sustainability and promotion for the whole area of the hydrographic basin of the Ter river through four spheres of action: natural heritage, cultural heritage, economic and tourism promotion and communication and awareness-raising. 

The Consortium is made up of 53 town councils and 5 regional councils of the Ter basin and represents 96.04% of the riverside population of the Ter and Freser rivers with a total of 250,239 inhabitants. 


  • Origins: The Consortium was founded in 1998, but its origin dates back to 1997 with the Alba-Ter/Ave project which served to implement a geographic information system for the Ter basin (SIG) and the elaboration of the Comprehensive Management Plan of the River Ter (POIRT). This plan established what needed to be done so that the water and river area became elements of identity and singularity of the Ter river basin, prioritising an ecological well-being and making it compatible with the development of economic, social and cultural activities in a sustainable and coordinated way.
  • Spheres of action: The Consortium works in four fields:

    • The area of Natural Heritage which aims to recover natural areas and representative places of the riverside to convert the river into an ecological corridor.
    • The area of Cultural Heritage which aims to give value to the heritage sites related to the use of water by cataloguing, legally protecting and rehabilitating and restoring them.
    • The area of Economic and Tourism Promotion which aims to develop the economic potential of the river Ter through the River Ter Route, a sustainable tourist product which gives value to the endogenous resources.
    • The area of Communication and Awareness-raising which aims to promote the cohesion, participation and awareness of society to contribute to the sustainable development of the Ter river basin area. This area is also responsible for transmitting the image and actions of the Alba-Ter Consortium so that it becomes a benchmark organisation within its area of influence and outside it as well.

    Work areas

    Within the area of Natural Heritage, the Consortium carries out projects to recover emblematic natural riverside areas, to promote the restoration of the river and its conditioning for a rational and sustainable use by the public as well as pilot control tests for invasive non-native vegetation.
    One of the projects that has been carried out is the “Crossborder Water Workshop” under the European community initiative Interreg III A which was developed together with the Syndicat Intercommunal de Gestion et d’Aménagement du Tech, grouping together 32 municipalities of the Tech basin area and the Pays Pyrénées-Méditerranée, which led the project. The project was developed between 2002 and 2006 and the actions carried out were divided into three areas: river restoration initiatives, conditioning of natural riverside areas for public use and pilot control tests for invasive non-native vegetation. Actions carried out in the area included the restoration of the left riverbank of the Ter river on the Devesa meander in the municipal district of Manlleu (Osona); adaptation for public use and revaluation of the old town rubbish tip of Ullà in the district of Ullà (Baix Empordà); control programme of invasive non-native vegetation along the Ter river, Ailanthus (Ailanthus altissima) in the municipal district of Salt (Gironès); and the adaptation of itineraries and areas along the “route of life around the Ter" to Anglès, in the district of Anglès (La Selva).
    Currently “Crossborder Water Workshop II” is being developed under the EU initiative, Interreg IV A - POCTEFA, together with French partners Pays Pyrénées-Méditerranée, leading the project, and SIGA (Syndicat Intercommunal de Gestion et d’Aménagement) du Tech. This project, in continuation of the “Crossborder Water Workshop”, aims to reinforce the cross border cooperation initiative with the partners of Northern Catalonia, and to promote the methodological and technical transfer regarding the river basin area of the Ter.
     
    Within the area of Cultural Heritage, the Consortium has made an inventory of heritage sites found in the riverside municipalities, related to the use of water, in order to carry out a correct selection of the emblematic heritage sites and to promote their legal protection. This inventory was created between 2004 and 2005. The heritage sites have been located by GPS and can therefore be introduced into the geographic information system (SIG). A selection was made from all of the sites, from a historic point of view, prioritising public and catalogued sites, followed by their classification by type: distribution and storage (aqueduct, canal and dams), energy generation (power station), industrial colonies, domestic use (pier, bathing area, washing place), industrial facilities (plant, smithy, mill) and communications (ford, footbridge, stepping stones and bridge). 

    One of the projects carried out is the rehabilitation of six cultural heritage sites under the EU initiative Interreg III B - BLUE between 2005-2007. Specifically, the washing place in Núria street in Ribes de Freser, identification and signposting of the Industrial Canal in Manlleu, adaptation of the area where the Burés steam machine was located in Anglès, restoration of the washing place in the Santa Eugènia vegetable patches in Girona, the Can Bram Mill in Sant Julià de Ramis and rehabilitation of the town washing place in Bordils. 

    Within the area of Economic and Tourism Promotion, the walking and tourism cycling track has been created, known as the River Ter Route (www.rutadelter.cat), which connects two poles of attraction, the Pyrenees and the Costa Brava, following the course of the Ter river. The Route covers a difference in altitude of 2,200 metres and along it a wide range of landscapes and cultural sites can be observed. Visitors can also enjoy a wide variety of gastronomy and find all types of accommodation.

    TECHNICAL HEADQUARTERS: C/ Sant Antoni, 1 (Cultural Factory Coma-Cros) · 17190 Salt · Tel.972 40 50 91 · albater@grn.es
    ADMINISTRATIVE HEADQUARTERS: Passeig del Ter, 2 (Museu Industrial del Ter) · 08560 Manlleu · Tel.93 850 71 52 · albater@albater.org
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