Information Seminar in Pezinok, Slovakia

Around 30 participants followed the invitation from the EUROPARC Federation to an Information Seminar on the European Charter on the 15th of June in the Vinársky Dom Hotel in Pezinok, Slovakia. 75 protected areas from eight countries across Europe are committed to sustainable tourism – says the EUROPARC Federation to an audience of representatives from protected areas, NGOs and state agencies from Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. The European Charter for Sustainable Tourism was promoted in Pezinok as a model and tool to sustain rural areas through these changing and challenging times. Tried and tested over 10 years the “Charter” has been adopted by most Western European countries as a mechanism to bring together the previously suspicious tourism industry and environmentalists. The aim of the seminar was to enlarge the existing Charter Network to new countries. The seminar took place in the framework of the EUROPARC project European CharterNet which is supported by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) with funds from the German Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety. The Seminar was moderated by the EUROPARC Federation in cooperation with Zuzana Okanikova from the State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic. The presentations were prepared by the Charter experts and participants of the project working group of the European CharterNet.

A final report can be downloaded on this site.

Presentations from the plenary session:

• Richard PARTINGTON, Naturalengland, Joining Forces: The European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas
• Paulo CASTRO, Ponto Natura & Lasse LOVEN, Metsähallitus, The application and verification process
• Patrizia ROSSI, Alpi Marittime Nature Park, What are the benefits from the European Charter?
• Josep Maria PRATS, Zona Volcánica de la Garrotxa Nature Park, How does the Charter involve local tourism businesses?
• Fran STEINGASS, Harz National Park & Zuzana OKANIKOVA, State Nature Conservancy of the Slovakian Republic, Experience from the Charter Partnership between Harz and Muránska Planina National Park