ACT Partners: about us...
The coordinator of the project is the Municipality of Ancona.
Ancona is a city and a seaport in Marche, a region located in the central part of Italy, with a population of 101,909 inhabitants (2005). The Municipality of Ancona lies on the Adriatic Coast and is located 280 kilometres north-east of Rome.
In the year 2001 the Environmental and EU Programs Council Department was established, as a first step towards changing the way of defining sustainable policies, strategies and programs with other local authorities. The efforts of the local government enabled the achievement of the Agenda 21 process, for the monitoring of the 2012 Local Action Plan results, and the Sustainability Report of the Municipality of Ancona, according to the UNEP/GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) guidelines, that has been completed and published in the Autumn of 2006. Actually the Municipality of Ancona is leading the Italian Association for Agenda 21 (more than 300 local authorities) and the Forum of Adriatic and Ionian Cities playing an important role in introducing sustainable innovations in the Adriatic region. This Forum is one of the project's partner of Act project.
The Forum of Adriatic and Ionian cities, convened by ANCI initiative, and Ancona City Council on 29th -30th April 1999, is a voluntary, nonprofit, international association of the municipalities, that overlooks the Adriatic-Ionian basin. The Forum, as stated in the art.1 of the Statute, is aimed to construct and to develop economic, social, environmental (sustainable development) and cultural integration between the coastal cities and to contribute to the realisation and growth of European integration, to boost security and the respect of laws and to the promotion of the equal opportunities between men and women. The Forum, moreover can join Associations and International Organizations for achieving these goals.
The second partner is the Municipality of Bullas.
Bullas is located in the north-western part of the Region of Murcia (south-east of Spain), 53 kilometres from the regional capital. It is situated about 650 metres above sea level, which is a strong influence in its Mediterranean climate, giving it a higher level of rainfall (about 400 mm/year) than in the rest of the Region of Murcia and cooler temperatures. The economy is dominated by the sectors of construction, industry and agriculture. Bullas is especially noted by the production of wine, having the declaration of Origin Denomination Area since 1994. The City Council is responsible also for services in the areas of town planning, security, environment, agriculture, local development, tourism, commerce, social policy, health, housing, education, culture, sports and youth among others.
The Municipality of Patras, another project partner, is located in the western part of Greece's mainland on the north-western coast of Peloponnesus. It is the third largest city of Greece and has always been a path to Europe, a gate towards the West and a commercial channel to the ports of Italy, France and England. The department of the Municipality involved in ACT project is the Municipal Enterprise for planning & Development of Patras S.A. (ADEP s.A. - Anaptiksiaki Dimotiki Epichirisi Patras S.A. ) In the current Programming Period (2007-2013) A.D.E.P. S.A. participates also in the CC-WaterS (Climate Change and impacts on Water Supply) - SOUTH EAST EUROPE SPACE (SEES). In these projects A.D.E.P. S.A. has a strong dissemination role, i.e. seminars, workshops, posters, brochures, manuals, newspaper articles and production of information for the web-portal, in order to raise awareness amongst citizens. As the city of Patras has adhered to the Covenant of Mayors, the participation of A.D.E.P. S.A. in ENESCOM will support the City of Patras in providing its Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) as prescribed by the Covenant of Mayors and in involving smaller Municipalities of the area through dissemination.
The last partner is ISPRA, the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, that acts under the vigilance and policy guidance of the Italian Ministry for the Environment and the Protection of Land and Sea. It performs, with the inherent financial resources, equipment and personnel, the duties of ex-APAT (Italian Environment Protection and Technical Services Agency), ex-INFS (National Institute for Wildlife) and ex-ICRAM (Central Institute for Scientific and Technological Research applied to the Sea).
Other news from the partners
With the contribution of the LIFE financial instrument of the European Community