The director of the Biodiversity Foundation, a public foundation of the Government of Spain, under the Ministry of the Environment, Rural and Marine Affairs, Ana Leiva, has signed today in Huesca a collaboration agreement with the President of the Provincial Council of Huesca, Antonio Cosculluela, to develop the project “Truffle cultivation as a driver of sustainable development in the Province of Huesca”, which promotes employment and good environmental practices in that region, within the framework of the Empleaverde Program. The event was also attended by the Sub-delegate of the Government in Huesca, Ramón Zapatero; the president of the Ribagorza region, José Franch, and the treasurer of the Association of truffle growers and collectors of Aragon, Miguel Ángel Riu.

The Biodiversity Foundation, as the managing body of the European Social Fund (ESF), allocates 168,394 euros to promote job creation, sustainable rural development and the improvement of the environment in Aragon.

Specifically, the project “Truffle cultivation as a driver of sustainable development in the Province of Huesca” is aimed at self-employed workers, workers in the service sector and workers who want to dedicate themselves to the marketing and handling of truffles, in the Province of Huesca.

The aim is to encourage truffle farming as a productive alternative in the forestry field with economic viability, since the truffle is a high quality, differentiated product with a competitive market price. This can contribute to the settlement of the population in rural areas, according to the expectations of the project implementers.

The initiative aims to implement a technology dissemination and transfer strategy that generates added value and is environmentally sustainable. A more independent rural economy will, in turn, develop profitable professional alternatives, which will contribute to promoting gastronomic, rural and wine tourism, among others, and thus to the deseasonalisation of existing tourism.

The project will train about 200 workers and the creation of 5 companies is expected.

The investment allocated through the Empleaverde Programme will serve to develop, in addition to the project of the Provincial Council of Huesca, the ENPlea Sostenible initiatives of Europarc Spain; that of the Confederation of Organizations of Foresters of Spain, which will be committed to sustainable management with training actions among owners of forest exploitations; that of the Technical Association for Waste Management, Urban Cleaning and the Environment (ATEGRUS) for the reconversion of work towards that sector and that of COAG Rural Initiative, for training in the compatibility of livestock management and wildlife.

THE PROGRAM IN NUMBERS

Through the Empleaverde Programme, the Foundation manages the funds allocated to it by the Adaptability and Employment Operational Programme of the European Social Fund (ESF) for the period 2007-2013. The 49 projects approved in this call add up to an amount of 11.8 million euros.

The empleaverde programme has set goals for the period 2007-2013 to support more than 50,000 people and promote the creation of 1,000 companies in the environmental sector. To this end, it has a total endowment of 44.1 million euros, of which the European Social Fund co-finances between 50% and 80% of the projects, depending on the regions in which they are developed.

Within the framework of these projects, nearly a thousand different actions will be carried out: courses, conferences, information and communication campaigns, personalized advice, among others.

These initiatives will contribute to the creation of almost 150 direct jobs, since the entities plan to hire personnel for their development. In addition, more than 250,000 workers will be involved through the projects and more than 550 economic activities are expected to be launched.