Latin American Region, European Union Region · 13 March, 2019

EUROsociAL+ participates in a publication that highlights the importance of addressing sustainable development in border areas

EUROsociAL+ participates in a publication that highlights the importance of addressing sustainable development in border areas

The launch of a book entitled “Cross-border cooperation for development” at the FIIAPP auditorium included a discussion of the themes dealt with in the first book of this new series, which describes experiences in Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia. Cross-border cooperation for development is a decentralised form of south-south cooperation that tends to achieve long-term benefits because it is based on identifying common needs that enable local authorities and civil society to cement their bonds of trust, leading to peace and sustainable development. These complex processes are unique to each part of the world, so the book is a compilation of experiences that share  learnings for replication in other contexts, which can also be debatd from an academic perspective.

The conversation revolved around the challenges of cross-border cooperation for development and the current regression in cross-border organisation as a result of nationalist policies that are reinforcing barriers in border areas through the use of force rather than trust, hence the need to focus on tools that facilitate this type of cooperation to encourage stability, peace and development. The book explores cross-border cooperation, and its 16 chapters address topics such as power mechanisms, legal frameworks, the 2030 agenda, democratic governance and social cohesion, regional value chains, post-conflict peace consolidation, water planning, migration, gender equality, LGTB issues, and includes an academic analysis of the causes and consequences of the implementation of territorial border cooperation policies.

The book is a joint effort by several authors, including EUROsociAL+ Programme experts Bárbara Gómez Valcárcel and Juan Manuel Santomé. It was coordinated by Leticia Bendelac from the University Institute of Development and Cooperation of the Complutense University of Madrid and Martín Guillermo Ramírez from the Association of European Border Regions. As well as the book coordinators, FIIAPP director Anna Terrón and Secretary of State for Territorial Policy of the Government of Spain Ignacio Sánchez Amor took part in the discussions.

EUROsociAL+ / Gestión del Conocimiento

Country: Latin American Region, European Union Region
SDG: Peace, justice and strong institutions, Partnerships for the goals
Policy area: Democratic governance policies