About Us
The initiative
Culatra 2030
The ‘Culatra 2030 - Sustainable Energy Community’ initiative is a demonstration project on the island of Culatra in Algarve, Portugal, covering multiple aspects of green transition.
It implements the ambitions of the Smart Specialisation Strategy (S3) in Algarve, using a novel Entrepreneurial Discovery Process (EDP) to create a real-life laboratory for green transition, focusing on the specific needs of the island and capitalising on its assets. The key to its success is the active participation of the island’s whole community through a continuous EDP process.
The initial Community Participatory Diagnosis was based on a fully inclusive participatory process, which brought together public entities, academia, companies and communities. Following the initial stage, a new governance system for participatory exploration of transition pathways was put in place, supported by different funding opportunities that are continuously explored.
In early 2019, the University of Algarve (UALG), in collaboration with the Associação de Moradores da Ilha da Culatra (AMIC), submitted a proposal to the Clean Energy for EU Island Secretariat and Culatra Island was selected as one of six pilot islands to design an Agenda for Energy Transition.
On March 24, 2019, the project was presented to the communities of the island at the Polidesportivo Clube União Culatrense on Ilha da Culatra. On the 27th of March 2019, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Clean Energy for EU Island Secretariat, the University of Algarve, the Residents Association of Ilha da Culatra, the Coordination and Development Commission of the Algarve Region and the Faro City Council.
How was born?
The Culatra 2030 initiative is firmly based on a ‘quadruple helix’ partnership model, bringing together the Regional Authority of Algarve, Local Authorities, the University of Algarve and various companies providing technology solutions, as well as citizens gathered under the Culatra Island Residents' Association (AMIC).
The University of Algarve, AMIC and Make it Better, an Association for Innovation and Social Economy, are coordinating the initiative. Together they form the ‘Island Sustainability Committee’, overseeing the whole Culatra 2030 initiative.
The committee has proved to be of considerable help in streamlining decision-making processes and ensuring feasibility of all projects from the outset.
Structure
The Culatra2030 team is now made up of researchers from the Center for Marine and Environmental Research (CIMA) and the Institute of Engineering of the University of Algarve, Make it Better (miB), an Association for Innovation and Social Economy, members of the three associations of the Culatra Fishing Nucleus, i.e., the Culatra Island Residents Association, the Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes Association and the União Culatrense Club, young entrepreneurs in the fishing, oyster farming and other aquaculture sectors.
The main objective is to enable the community to organize itself into a Cooperative for the Sustainability of the Island, passing the University of Algarve and miB to the advisory board without decision-making power.
Team
The vision of Culatra 2030 is to create, at the Culatra Fishing Village in the heart of Ria Formosa Natural Park, a Renewable Energy Community through an integrated intervention in the energy management model, waste management, water management and creation of new Social Responsibility mechanisms.
Vision
The initiative is supported by the Clean Energy for EU Islands from the European Commission and is one of the six first pilot islands to have a Transition Agenda until 2030.
The Culatra Energy Transition Agenda (CETA) has 5 pillars:
Electricity generation, storage and distribution;
Housing climatization and building efficiency;
Transport on the island, to and from the island;
Water supply and treatment;
Waste management and valorization.
