Memorial of the 10th anniversary of the passing of Jordi Falgarona

Today, 25th of March, we want to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the passing of Jordi Falgarona’s, founder and first president of the Silene Association. A committed member of the IUCN Specialist Group on Cultural and Spiritual Values of Protected Natural Areas, since its creation, Jordi Falgarona played a key role in organising seminal events, such as the first international seminar of the Delos Initiative in Montserrat, in 2006, and in the preparation of the case studies of Doñana (Andalousie) and Montsant (Catalonia).

During the last years of his professional life, on behalf of the Department of the Environment of Catalonia, he managed to include cultural and spiritual values in the agenda of the Spanish Section of the Europarc Federation, through an strategic line of the Action Plan of Protected Areas of Spain. Jordi’s strategic vision and commitment resulted in leading initiatives, such as the best practice guidelines “Intangible Heritage: Cultural and Spiritual Values. Handbook for its integration into protected areas”, published jointly by Europarc-España and Silene, in 2012, which the authors dedicated to him, in recognition of his legacy.

From the Silene Association we remember him as a humble, warm and empathetic person, with a generous heart and a commendable enthusiasm. His inspirational example is still alive for anyone who has enjoyed his company or friendship.