On Friday, February 26th, the final conference of the "Partners for Nature" project, funded through the Swiss-Croatian Cooperation Program, was held. Due to epidemiological measures necessitated by the global COVID-19 pandemic, the conference was organized in an online format.
At the conference were presented the results of the project, which lasted from April 1st 2019 to February 28th 2021, and during which, in cooperation with partners from Croatia and Switzerland, we explored different models of protected area management, with an emphasis on their sustainability and stakeholder participation. An additional sub-topic addressed by the project was waste management in such areas.
The main results of the project are summarized in two publications presented at the conference, which also contain recommendations for improving current practice in two areas: "Sustainable, transparent and participatory management of protected areas" and "Waste management in protected areas". In addition, at the conference were presented the results of a survey conducted between November 2020 and February 2021 among public institutions that manage protected areas in the Republic of Croatia, regarding the involvement of stakeholders in management.
In addition to the main results of the project, partners from Croatian public institutions that manage protected areas briefly presented the local topics they addressed during the project, and a presentation was also given by a representative from Pro Natura.
The conference was attended by 44 people, including representatives of public institutions for management of protected areas, Croatian and Swiss NGOs, Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development and Ministry of Agriculture of Republic of Croatia, the Croat Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs, Međimurje County, Croatian Forests, tourist boards, educational institutions and economic entities.
We believe that the project has played an important role in connecting Croatian and Swiss NGOs and institutions for the management of protected areas and we hope that in the future there will be more opportunities for cooperation on this and similar topics.
The overall goal of the Partners for Nature project was to build the capacity of civil society organizations and public institutions for the management of protected areas of nature in Croatia, through cooperation and partnership with Swiss civil society organizations and public institutions, in a way that ensures sustainable socio-economic development of local communities.
The project was coordinated by Zelena akcija / Friends of the Earth Croatia, and the project partners were:Public Institution Green Ring, Public Institution Nature Park Lastovo Islands, Međimurska priroda – Public Institution for Nature Protection, and Pro Natura / Friends of the Earth Switzerland.
** Programme is co-financed by the Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs. The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of Zelena akcija and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Government Office for Cooperation with NGOs.
You may upload our content in an integral or revised version with the indication of the organisation Zelena akcija/FoE Croatia - under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
This permission does not apply to stock photos and embedded content of other creators.
Design & development: Slobodna domena Zadruga za otvoreni kod i dizajn