The Taula del Sénia () or Mancomunitat de la Taula del Sénia is a commonwealth or free association of municipalities made up of 22 towns, totalling up to 100,000 people, of some of the

comarcas A ''comarca'' (, or , or ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, ...

that make up the center of the

historical region Historical regions (or historical areas) are geographical regions which at some point in time had a cultural, ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that ...

Ilercavonia Ilercavonia ( ca, Ilercavònia, es, Ilercavonia) is an ancient comarca of Spain formerly populated by the ancient Iberian tribe known as Ilercavones. It is a greater comarca made up of smaller ones. The ties between the people of the region tra ...

(present day southern

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

and

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...

, and northern

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. The origin of the name lies in the fact that all municipal terms involved are located within 15 km of the

Sénia River The Cenia River ( es, Río Cenia, ca, Riu de la Sénia) is a river in the provinces of Castellón and Tarragona, Spain It begins its course at in the Barranc del Salt, Ports de Beseit limestone massif near La Pobla de Benifassà. The Cenia ...

, perceived as the centre of the region in its upper course.

Goals

The Taula del Sénia's main purpose is to alleviate the historical neglect of this greater comarca by managing its public municipal resources meaningfully. The organization of the municipalities in a mancomunidad may allow the region to achieve the necessary legal recognition for its administrative development. The main emphasis of the mancomunidad is the promotion of

reindustrialization Reindustrialization is the economic, social, and political process of organizing national resources for the purpose of re-establishing industries. The process proceeds as a result of a need to reinvigorate national economies. Interpretations China ...

, as much industry fled the area during the last half of the 20th century and the current crisis has forced many key factories to close their doors. The Taula del Sénia focuses also on

sustainable development Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The des ...

by presenting the region as a meeting point of three

Spanish Autonomous Communities eu, autonomia erkidegoa ca, comunitat autònoma gl, comunidade autónoma oc, comunautat autonòma an, comunidat autonoma ast, comunidá autónoma , alt_name = , map = , category = Autonomous administra ...

, instead of the gathering of three fringe territories of

and the

Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid with ...

. The reversal of the latter perception is crucial to the Taula del Sénia's efforts, for they blame their present status of disinvestment, unemployment and general economic neglect to being far away from the centres of power and decision of each of the three Autonomous Communities in question. The Taula del Sénia has two related organizations, the ''Associació Territori del Sénia'' (''Asociación Territorio del Senia'') that focuses mainly on promoting the greater comarca as a tourist destination, as well as a cultural organization named ''Fundació Rei Jaume I'' (''Fundación Rey Jaime I'').Fundació Rei Jaume I

Members

* Baix Maestrat (

): **

Benicarló Benicarló () is a city and municipality in the north of the province of Castelló, part of the Valencian Community, in the Mediterranean Coast between the cities of Vinaròs and Peníscola, not too far south from the Ebre River. Tourism, ag ...

** Càlig **

Canet lo Roig Canet lo Roig () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Baix Maestrat in the Valencian Community, Spain. The Serra de Sant Pere rises southeast of the town and the Cérvol River flows north of it. The Moles de Xert rise west of Canet, on the ...

** Cervera del Maestrat ** La Jana ** Rossell **

Traiguera Traiguera is a town and municipality in the Baix Maestrat comarca, province of Castelló, Valencian Community, Spain. It is part of the Taula del Sénia free association of municipalities. The town is located in a central position in the comarc ...

Vinaròs Vinaròs () is a city located in eastern Spain and the capital of the Baix Maestrat in the province of Castelló. It is in the border between the Valencian Country and Catalonia. Vinaròs is a fishing harbour and tourist destination. History T ...

* Matarranya (

): **

Beseit Beceite () or Beseit () is a municipality located in the Matarraña/Matarranya comarca, province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 603 inhabitants. It is part of the Taula del Sén ...

** Pena-roja ** Vall-de-roures (Valderrobres) *

Montsià Montsià () is the southernmost comarca (county) of Catalonia in Spain. Its capital and largest city is Amposta. History Almost all Montsià municipalities are part of the Taula del Sénia free association or mancomunitat (commonwealth). Munic ...

(

): **

Alcanar Alcanar () is a Spanish municipality of the Catalan comarca of Montsià, in the Tarragona province. It is a coastal town on the Mediterranean Sea. The Serra del Montsià range and its foothills rise above the town and its surroundings. According ...

Freginals Freginals is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Montsià in Catalonia, Spain. This town is located on a hill between the northern end of the Serra de Godall and the Serra del Montsià, not far from the forking of the roads between Tortosa, ...

Godall Godall is a municipality in the Montsià comarca, Tarragona Province, Catalonia, Spain. Godall gives its name to the Serra de Godall, a moderately high and smooth calcareous mountain range that rises above the town. Local legend says that the vill ...

La Galera La Galera is a municipality in the comarca Montsià, in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. In 2009 its population was 884. La Galera is part of the Taula del Sénia free association of municipalities. History Although it has not been ...

Mas de Barberans Mas de Barberans is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Montsià in Catalonia, Spain. It is part of the Taula del Sénia free association of municipalities. Local crafts This town is located at the feet of the eastern edge of the Ports de Tortos ...

Sant Carles de la Ràpita Sant may refer to: People * Alfred Sant (born 1948), Maltese politician * Andrew Sant (born 1950), English-born Australian poet * David Sant (born 1968), Catalan director, actor and writer * Indira Sant (1914–2000), Indian poet * James Sant ( ...

** Santa Bàrbara **

La Sénia La Sénia is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Montsià in Catalonia, Spain. This town is located in a plain by the Sénia River at the western end of the Montsià county. The limestone massif of the Ports de Tortosa-Beseit rises a few mile ...

Ulldecona Ulldecona is a town in the South of Catalonia, in Montsià ( Terres de l'Ebre), near the Senia River. Ulldecona is part of the Taula del Sénia free association of municipalities. It has got town privileges since 1273. The nearest towns are: Al ...

Ports A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

(

): ** Morella **

Vallibona Vallibona () is a small town and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Ports (comarca), Ports comarca, province of Castelló (province), Castelló, part of the Valencia (autonomous community), autonomous community of Valencia, Spa ...

References

External links

Taula del Sénia Official Site
Subdivisions of Spain Mancomunidad {{Spain-geo-stub