INTERREG IVC: PESTO project

Under the leadership of the Finnish Natural Heritage Service (Metsähallitus) 15 partners from 9 European countries, representing national, regional and municipal level administration, park managers, 2 research institutes and the EUROPARC Federation as pan European public thematic organisation, have formed a partnership. Together they have produced a project proposal for a funding call from the DG ENV in the framework of the INTERREG IVC programme.

We have just found out that the project proposal has successfully passed the eligibility test and is now through to the second round: an evaluation by the technical secretariat. If it is passes the evaluation thee project will start in November 2009 and run for 36 months. We have put together the following information to enlighten you about this exciting possibility…

What is INTERREG IVC?

The INTERREG IV C is an EU programme with focus on interregional cooperation that helps regions of Europe work together to share their knowledge and experience. The Programme is financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). 302 million EUR is being made available to co-finance projects with up to 85% implemented by EU member states including Switzerland and Norway. By promoting European-wide cooperation INTERREG IVC encourages regional and local authorities to view interregional cooperation as a means of enhancing their development through learning from the experiences of others. This way, the successful experiences gained in different regions can be spread throughout Europe.

What is PESTO about?

PESTO follows the guidelines of the INTERREG IVC programme and provides a platform for its partners to exchange experiences and good practice in the field of sustainable tourism in protected areas. It integrates regional development authorities, the protected area management authorities, research institutes, local societies and tourism businesses. The aim is to improve the effectiveness of regional policies in this field developing new good practice and sustainable tourism strategies, which focus on protected areas with special attention on the issues of the new EU member states.

The PESTO partners are all at different stages of sustainable tourism development. They will share knowledge and learn from each other via thematic interregional working groups, international events, study tours, tutoring and training. Innovative small scale pilot studies will develop tourism capacity indicators, impact analysis, criteria for awards and public transport models for the integration of tourism businesses into sustainable development. The results will be tested and modified at a regional level and compared and analysed at an international level.

And what are the expected outcomes?

The project is divided into four major components. The first component is related to the management and coordination of the project and includes financial and administrative tasks as well as regular meetings for the project’s steering committee.

The second component will be supported mainly by the EUROPARC Federation and includes all activities that are related to the communication and dissemination of PESTO. A project website will be integrated into the European Charter website. A project brochure will be designed and translated into the nine partner languages. A bi-annual newsletter and regular national and international press releases will be created and press conferences organised. Furthermore, PESTO will be presented at various trade fairs in Europe to promote the project and facilitate the establishment of networks.

 The third and most important component is dedicated to the exchange of expertise. Eight international seminars will be organized. They will tackle eight different issues from “methodologies for environmental and tourism analysis, assessment and monitoring” to “innovative concepts for protected area services and products”. Where possible the seminars will be integrated into other European Charter network events in order to maximise the dissemination. They will bring PESTO partners, external experts, other protected area stakeholders and tourism businesses together and enable them to exchange information and disseminate the project findings.

There will also be three interregional thematic working groups on the following topics: visitor management and socio-economical benefits, concepts for quality business opportunities in connection to protected areas and ecological capacity for tourism. On a smaller scale the partners will exchange tutors/staff .

Another important outcome of this component will be a good practice guide on sustainable tourism in protected areas. Based on the project activities each region/partner participating in the project will define and adopt a commitment demonstrating their will to improve their policies on tourism in protected areas according to the project results.

The fourth component relates to methodology and pilots and focuses on activities that are implemented by the partners in their respective areas, e.g. sustainable tourism planning forums, pilot sustainable tourism action plans, pilot sustainable tourism criteria and indicators.

Not only EUROPARC’s European Charter Network but all EUROPARC members will be able to access all information on the project and even participate in some of the international seminars. The results from the different seminars, workshops etc will be compiled in reports and will be used to continuously improve the methodology of the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas. Nonetheless, PESTO will help to strengthen the already existing network and enlarge it to new countries and regions in Eastern Europe.

More information: www.interreg4c.eu

EUROPARC Federation: Petra Dippold, p.dippold@europarc.org