Agrarian Park of Baix Llobregat

The Parc Agrari del Baix Llobregat is located in the floodplains of the delta and lower valley of the river Llobregat, in the Catalan county of Baix Llobregat, in a central position within the metropolitan area of Barcelona. The territory of the park (nearly 3500 hectares), includes a rich traditional agricultural activity and comprises fourteen municipalities totaling about 818,000 residents.

The goals of the Special Plan for the Protection and Improvement of the Agrarian Park is: 1) to promote the expansion of sustainable agricultural production on a competitive level while 2) preserving the natural habitat and its biological value and 3) prevent harmful infrastructural expansion in the green area and build a social space for people to enjoy and be educated about environmental protection - structure the agricultural space to guarantee the necessary conditions for competitive and quality agricultural production. - guarantee the survival of the system of natural spaces and preserve the biological diversity, in a quality landscape environment. - preserve the cultural and landscape heritage, and structure the agrarian space in order to facilitate the social order, as far as compatible, with the space for environmental education.

• €2,000,000 - €4,000,000
• Public local authority budget
• EU funds

Environmental impacts

• Climate change
• Reduced emissions
• Environmental quality
• Improved air quality
• Improved soil quality
• Water management and blue areas
• Enhanced protection and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems
• Green space and habitat
• Increased green space area
• Increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems
• Increased ecological connectivity across regeneration sites and scales
• Increased conversion of degraded land or soil
• Reduced biodiversity loss
• Increased number of species present
• Improved prevention or control of invasive alien species
• Increased spread of native/heirloom/open-pollinated seed

Economic impacts

• Increase of green jobs (e.g. paid employment positions)
• More sustainable tourism
• Stimulate development in deprived areas
• Increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
• Attraction of business and investment
• Generation of income from NBS
• Increased market share for green economies

Socio-cultural impacts

• Social justice and cohesion
• Improved social cohesion
• Fair distribution of social, environmental and economic benefits of the NBS project
• Increased visibility and opportunity for marginalised groups or indigenous peoples
• Increased opportunities for social interaction
• Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
• Increased access to healthy/affordable food
• Increased sustainability of agriculture practices
• Health and wellbeing
• Improved physical health
• Improved mental health
• Cultural heritage and sense of place
• Improvement in people’s connection to nature
• Protection of natural heritage
• Protection of historic and cultural landscape / infrastructure
• Increased sense of place identity, memory and belonging
• Increased awareness of flora and fauna as culturally and historically meaningful
• Increased appreciation for natural spaces
• Education
• Increased support for education and scientific research
• Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
• Increased awareness of NBS and their benefits
• Safety
• Increased perception of safety

5 main strategic actions were designed in the plan: 1) To improve the efficiency of already existing infrastructural and agricultural services; 2) To improve a system of production and commercialisation in favour of better entries from the agrarian sector; 3) Improvement of infrastructures to better help viability; 4) To design a space for quality social life in harmony with the natural environment; and 5) To preserve the natural habitat and create better connection with the agrarian activities. Researchers and land experts have been working to introduce eco-friendly farming techniques using less spraying and minimal amounts of pesticides, as well as modernising existing irrigation channels and helping farmers sell what they grow. traditional knowledge transmission: In an attempt to further encourage Barcelona’s residents to choose fresh and local, over other alternatives, the park’s management is designing tours to the park, which will educate visitors about the history of the ecosystem and allow them to see farmers at work. Each year, hundreds of students from Barcelona’s metropolitan area are already learning about it.

Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities

• Protect and enhance urban habitats
• Preserve and strengthen existing habitats and ecosystems
• Reduce negative impacts and avoid the alteration/damage of ecosystem
• Protect species
• Undertake specific measures to protect species
• Means for conservation governance
• Manage biological resources for conservation and sustainable use
• Create and use scientific knowledge for conservation

None provided

The Parc Agrari del Baix Llobregat is located in the floodplains of the delta and lower valley of the river Llobregat, in the Catalan county of Baix Llobregat, in a central position within the metropolitan area of Barcelona. The territory of the park (nearly 3500 hectares), includes a rich traditional agricultural activity and comprises fourteen municipalities totaling about 818,000 residents. It is protected by a specific planning instrument and managed by the Barcelona Provincial Council (Diputació de Barcelona). The park acts as a green lung for the metropolitan area of Barcelona and at the same time as a pantry for Mercabarna, the large wholesale market that provides food and drink to the inhabitants of Barcelona and surrounding towns, although there is also production that is exported. The Agrarian Park is the only one in the world so close to a large city and it promotes specific programs to preserve the productive values of the agricultural space and promotes quality local products and local consumption.

• Diputació Barcelona (no date). Parcs de Catalunya - Xarxa de Parcs Naturals. Available at: Source link (Accessed: July 27, 2020)
• Generalitat de Barcelona (2015). "Revisió del Pla Especial de Protecció i Millora del Parc Agrari del Baix Llobegrat". Available at: Source link (Accessed: July 27, 2020)
• Diputació Barcelona (no date). Plan step-by-step development. Available at: Source link (Accessed: July 27, 2020)
• Parc Agrari del Baix Llobegrat (2013). Línies Prioritáries d’actució 2013. Available at: Source link (Accessed: July 27, 2020)
• Diputació Barcelona (no date). Management bodies. Available at: Source link (Accessed: July 27, 2020)
• Dawber, A. (2015). Barcelona smell: Agricultural park in Baix Llobregat blamed for stink hanging over Spanish city. The Independent Diary. Available at: Source link (Accessed: July 27, 2020)
• Montasell i Dorda, J. and Callau i Berenguer, S. (2008). The Baix Llobregat Agricultural Park (Barcelona): An instrument for preserving, developing and managing a periurban agricultural area. Available at: Source link (Accessed: July 27, 2020)
• Serafina, S. (2010). Farming at Parc Agrari: Barcelona's backyard. Metropolitan Barcelona. Available at: Source link (Accessed: July 27, 2020)
• European Commission (no date). Preparation and implementation of a pilot action for the conservation, improvement and economic promotion of Barcelona suburban agricultural area. Available at: Source link (Accessed: July 27, 2020)
• Blog Hedonista (2019). El Parc Agrari del Baix Llobregat. Available at: Source link (Accessed: July 27, 2020)
• Arcos, J. A. (2019). "Descubrimos la Huerta de Barcelona". Available at: Source link (Accessed: July 27, 2020)
• VilaPress (2019). "El Consorcio del Parque Agrario del Baix Llobregat incorpora el AMB a su gestión".