The Comarca de Somontano formalizes the entrustment of the Río Vero Cultural Park

The Comarca de Somontano de Barbastro has formalized the management entrustment of the Río Vero Cultural Park with the town councils of Bárcabo, Colungo, and Santa María de Dulcis, through three collaboration agreements published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Huesca number 205, dated October 26, 2026. The Comarcal Council accepted the entrustment on September 30, 2026, in accordance with article 11.3 of Law 40/2015, of October 1, on the Legal Regime of the Public Sector. The announcement, signed by the comarcal president, Saúl Pérez Lacasa, in Barbastro on October 23, 2026, occupies pages 103 to 121 of the gazette and bears the reference BOPH-2026-205027.

The Río Vero Cultural Park was declared as such by Decree 110/2001 of the Government of Aragon and is regulated by that norm and by Law 12/1997 on Cultural Parks of Aragon. Its delimitation covers part of eleven municipalities: Aínsa-Sobrarbe, Boltaña, Adahuesca, Alquézar, Azara, Barbastro, Bárcabo, Colungo, Castillazuelo, Pozán de Vero, and Santa María de Dulcis, eight of which are included within the comarcal delimitation.

The formula is not new: in the constitutive session of the Park Board held in Colungo on July 6, 2005, it was agreed to establish the headquarters in the Comarca’s facilities and set up a management entrustment; in 2006, the agreement that had been in force until now was signed, which was necessary because the figure of the Cultural Park lacks its own legal personality. The three published texts are adapted to the current law on agreements and were ratified by the Board meeting in Castillazuelo on March 23, 2026.

Municipal plenary approvals and distribution of functions

Each town council authorized the entrustment in a plenary session prior to the comarcal acceptance:

• Bárcabo: plenary agreement of June 24, 2026, signed by the mayor Carmen Lalueza Giral.
• Colungo: plenary agreement of June 11, 2026, signed by the mayor David Rubiella Coronas.
• Santa María de Dulcis: plenary agreement of June 23, 2026, signed by the mayor Mariano Lisa Pano.

The Comarca assumes the management of the Park, its operation and services, and the execution of projects subsidized by the Government of Aragon or other entities, without the entrustment altering the ownership of the municipal competence. The regional Cultural Heritage Area, and specifically the Culture and Heritage Technician, will perform the management functions using its own means. The town councils commit to authorizing the actions within their territory and providing their annual contribution to the maintenance of the Park. The regional secretary, Yolanda Pozo Martos, and Esther Borderías Cebollero, as secretary of the three town councils, endorse the agreements.

Four years of validity and monitoring commission

The agreements will have a validity of four years, extendable by unanimous agreement of the parties for up to four additional years, and will enter into force the day after their publication in the BOP. Monitoring will be the responsibility of a Monitoring Commission composed of the president of the Comarca and the mayor of each municipality, or their delegates, who may have technical assistance. Termination is foreseen by mutual agreement, written notice, revocation due to non-compliance, or resignation of the Comarca, and disputes are assigned to the Contentious-Administrative Court of Huesca.

An annual program of 228,430.24 euros

The 2026 activity program annexed to the agreements amounts to 228,430.24 euros, distributed among management and service provision (116,500 euros), maintenance (5,000 euros), investments (53,149.15 euros), and dissemination and other projects (12,400 euros). Investments include:

• Signage program in Alquézar: 2,200 euros.
• Co-financing of the Ministry of Culture project in Colungo: 7,000 euros.
• Dry stone walls on the Barfaluy path, Lecina: 3,000 euros.
• Rock Art Center: 2,100 euros.
• Cleaning of wiring on facades: 3,900 euros.
• Improvements in the Social Center of Paúles de Sarsa: 2,500 euros.
• Town council signage program: 14,530 euros.

The financing forecast combines 85,000 euros from the Government of Aragon (Cultural Parks), 41,381.09 euros from the Ministry of Culture, 70,000 euros from the Comarca del Somontano, 10,149.15 euros from municipal co-financing, and 10,000 euros from ticket sales. The contributions of the municipalities are set by population brackets, from 500 to 5,000 euros depending on the inhabitants, and the annex table quantifies them at 11,900 euros. The Comarca is also a partner in the Patrim 4.0 cooperation project, linked to rock art.

The entrustment consolidates the Comarca as the effective manager of a space declared a World Heritage site for its rock art shelters, such that decisions regarding guides, maintenance of interpretation centers, route signage, and visitor attraction remain in the hands of a single administrative body. For the residents of the three signatory municipalities, the agreement guarantees the continuity of the Park’s services for the next four fiscal years and sets out in writing how much each town council contributes and what it receives in return.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Huesca, no. 205, October 26, 2026, Local Administration (Comarcas), pp. 103-121 (official reference: BOPH-2026-205027).