[This article is part of the “Capraia Night Sky Symposium, reloaded” series – check this introduction to learn more]

S.J. Ribas (1) , J. Vilajoli (2)

1 – Parc Astronòmic Montsec, Consell Comarcal de la Noguera,
Camí del coll d’Ares s/n E25691 Àger, Lleida, Spain
sjribas@montsec.cat

2 – Consell Comarcal de la Noguera, C. Angel Guimera 28-30
E25600 Balaguer, Lleida, Spain
jvilajoliu@ccnoguera.cat

La serra del Montsec és una serra calcaria de més de 40 kilòmetres de longitud a les comunitats autònomes de Catalunya i Aragó al nord-est de la Península Ibèrica. La part catalana inclou al voltant de 20 municipis a les comarques del Pallars Jussà i la Noguera.

Aquesta área mostra uns paràmetres excel·lents pel desenvolpumant d’activitats al voltant de l’astronomia i els cels foscos. Per aquest motiu el Govern de Catalunya va promoure la creació i desenvolupament del Parc Astronòmic Montsec com una eina per ajudar al desenvolupament econòmic de la regió. Aquest impuls va donar una oportunitat per aturar la pèrdua de població i la creacio i millora de noves infrastructures turístiques vinculades al cel fosc i a les activitats astronòmiques.

L’any 2013 més de 1700 km2 van ser declarats com Destinació Turística Starlight i una part d’aquesta àrea va ser també Reserva Starlight gràcies als seus fantàstics paràmetres de cel nocturn i a les accions dutes a termes en el teriirotri per a preservar-lo.

Des del 2012 es van realitzar els primers anàlisi d’impacte econòmic i social, per exemple els resultats mostrats pel procés d’evaluació i diagnosi pel disseny del ‘Pla de Desenvolupament Sostenible del Turisme Montsec 2020’ [SomMontsec 2012]. L’any 2014 un nou estudi es va realitzat sobre els visitants del Parc Astronòmic Montsec i com contribueixen en l’economia local i en les activitats alternatives a l’àrea del Montsec. Aquest estudi del 2014 es va resvisar l’any 2017 amb les noves dades de visitants i paràmetres econòmics actualitzats.

Aquests estudis ens mostren importants resultats sobre la millora de l’àrea del Montsec. Per exemple el nombre d’allotjaments s’ha doblat en un dècada, l’aturada de la pèrdua de població a l’àrea o l’estimació d’uns 2 milions d’euros d’activitat econòmica generada al territori pels visitants del Parc Astronòmic Montsec.

Paraules clau:
contaminació lumínica, economia, astroturisme

Traduzione di S. Ribas

[This article is part of the “Capraia Night Sky Symposium, reloaded” series , and is also available in Catalan– check this introduction to learn more]

S.J. Ribas (1) , J. Vilajoli (2)

1 – Parc Astronòmic Montsec, Consell Comarcal de la Noguera,
Camí del coll d’Ares s/n E25691 Àger, Lleida, Spain
sjribas@montsec.cat

2 – Consell Comarcal de la Noguera, C. Angel Guimera 28-30
E25600 Balaguer, Lleida, Spain
jvilajoliu@ccnoguera.cat

ABSTRACT
Montsec is a calcareous mountain range more than 40 kilometres long in the regions of Catalunya and Aragon in the north-east of the Iberian Peninsula. The Catalonian part includes around 20 municipalities in the counties of Pallars Jussà and La Noguera.
This area showed excellent parameters to develop activities around astronomy and dark skies. For this reason the Government of Catalonia promoted the creation and development of Parc Astronòmic Montsec as a tool to help in the economic development
of the region. This development gives the chance to stop the loss of population and the creation and upgrading of new touristic facilities related to dark skies and astronomical activities.
In 2013 more than 1700 km2 were declared as Starlight Touristic Destination and part of this area became Starlight Reserve thanks to its wonderful parameters of the night
sky and the actions taken in the area to preserve it.
Since 2012 the first’s analyses of the economic and social impact have been done in the area. For example the results shown by the evaluation process for the development of the ‘Pla de Desenvolupament Sostenible del Turisme Montsec 2020’ [SomMontsec 2012] as strategic plan for tourism in the area. In 2014 a new study was done studying the visitors of Parc Astronòmic Montsec and how they participate in the local economy and in alternative activities in Montsec area. This 2014 study has been updated with 2017 visitors and economy data available.
These studies give us important results in the improvement of Montsec area. For example the number of accommodation facilities has been doubled in the last decade, the stop of the loss of population in the area or the estimation of close to 2.0MEuros of economic activity generated in the area by the visitors of Parc Astronòmic Montsec.

KEYWORDS:
light pollution, economy, astrotourism.

Here is a recapitulation of this week’s articles:

Oct. 15 – Giacomelli – Introduction
Oct. 16 – Gini et al. urban ecology 
Oct. 17 – Depellegrin et al. coastal areas 
Oct. 18 – Ortolani et al. spectroscopic analysis 
Oct. 19 – Welch Dark sky places 

The next article will be available on Oct. 22.

For more information on these topics you may also see the Outreach on lighting and darkness page.

[This article is part of the “Capraia Night Sky Symposium, reloaded” series – check this introduction to learn more]

DARK SKY PLACES OF THE WORLD
D. Welch
Chair, Dark Skies Advisory Group
World Commission on Protected Areas, IUCN
welch.ottawa@gmail.com

From 1993 to March 2018, 149 dark sky parks and communities in 23 countries have been  recognized by various organisations,  notably the International Dark Sky Association (IDA), the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) and the Starlight Initiative.
Because light pollution impacts species and their interactions, many natural area organizations implement lighting systems friendly to night sky viewing and night ecology. Parks Canada and the RASC developed guidelines for outdoor lighting in parks, now
recommended by IDA. These guidelines apply in the 27 Canadian dark sky preserves. The Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division of the US National Park Service has guided 22 of its sites to be among USA’s 65 dark sky places, mostly recognized by the IDA.
The Starlight Initiative certifies 16 Starlight Reserves mostly in Spain. Several other places are certified by sub-national levels of government or by astronomy research groups. As well as parks and communities, the IDA certifies “Developments of Distinction” and,
likewise, the Starlight Initiative “Starlight Tourism Destinations.”

Because these programmes use many different naming systems, the IUCN Dark Skies Advisory Group developed a 6 class system, some with sub-classes, to enable world-wide comparisons.

1, Dark Sky Astronomy Site, 14 places around the world.
2, Dark Sky Park, 86 places.
3, Dark Sky Heritage Site, 3 places.
4, Dark Sky Outreach Site 9 places.
5, Dark Sky Reserve, 13 places.
6, Dark Sky Community, 24 places.

Several challenges remain.

1)Light pollution reduction is often overshadowed by other threats to nature, such as climate change.
2) Much work remains to be done to reduce light pollution in urban areas, where protected areas can play a role through outreach, visitor engagement and demonstrating best practices.
3) There still needs to be recognition that protected areas, by default, should be dark sky places.

KEYWORDS: protected areas, nature conservation, parks, communities, best
practices, outreach.