On the 5th of October, EUROPARC members are warmly invited to the annual General Assembly. This year, an important task lays ahead: to elect the new EUROPARC President and Council members for the next 3 years.

Thank you for your nominations

Over the past weeks, our members had a chance to nominate candidates for the future President and Council of the EUROPARC Federation. All information about the General Assembly 2021 can be found here (restricted access for members only; please use the password provided via email).

Today we bring an overview of the candidates:

Candidates for the President

Name: Michael Hošek

Nationality/Citizenship: Czech

Member Organization: Krkonoše Mountains National Park

Nominated by: Regionaal Landschap Kempen en Maasland

Current Position: Project coordinator / Krkonoše Mountains National Park

Candidates for the Council

Name: Leelo Kukk

Nationality/Citizenship: Estonian

Member Organization: Environmental Board of Estonia (Keskkonnaamet)

Nominated by: Swedish Environmental Protection Agency

Current Position: Deputy General Director/ Environmental Board of Estonia (Keskkonnaamet)

Name: João Cardoso de Melo

Nationality/Citizenship: Portuguese

Member Organization: Cascais Ambiente

Nominated by: ADRIMAG / Montanhas Mágicas

Current Position: Director / Cascais Ambiente

Name: Pete Rawcliffe

Nationality/Citizenship: Scotland, United Kingdom

Member Organization: NatureScot

Nominated by: Cairngorms National Park Authority

Current Position: Head of the People and Places Activity Team

Name: Hendrik Oosterveld

Nationality/Citizenship: Netherlands

Member Organization: National Park Drentsche Aa

Nominated by: Regionaal Landschap Kempen en Maasland

Current Position: Chairman Area Charity Fund National Park Drentsche Aa

Name: Dominique Lévêque

Nationality/Citizenship: French

Member Organization: Parc Naturel de la Montagne de Reims

Nominated by: Fédération des Parcs naturels régionaux de France

Current Position: President / Parc Naturel de la Montagne de Reims

Name: Marta Múgica

Nationality/Citizenship: Spanish

Member Organization: Fungobe (Fundacion Fernando Gonzalez Bernaldez)

Nominated by: Diputació de Barcelona

Current Position: Director / Fundación Fernando González Bernáldez

Name: Enzo Lavarra

Nationality/Citizenship: Italy

Member Organization: Parco Naturale Regionale “Bosco e Paludi di Rauccio”

Nominated by: Parco Naturale Regionale Costa Otranto – S.Maria Leuca – Bosco Tricase

Current Position: Voluntary assistant at Parco Naturale Regionale “Bosco e Paludi di Rauccio” on projects of agricultural and environmental regeneration

Name: Stefano Santi

Nationality/Citizenship: Italian

Member Organization: Associazione Rete Italiana European Green Belt APS

Nominated by: Tuscan Archipelago National Park

Current Position: Member of Associazione Rete Italiana European Green Belt APS

Name: Sonia Anelli

Nationality/Citizenship: Italian

Member Organization: Pantelleria Island National Park

Nominated by: Ente di Gestione per i Parchi e la Biodiversità – Emilia Occidentale

Current Position: Director / Pantelleria Island National Park

Enjoying nature on holiday and protecting it at the same time is what voluntourism offers in the Nationale Naturlandschaften are all about.

Voluntourism for Biological Diversity

The summer holiday season is in full swing, so why not involve visitors in nature conservation activities and let them support Protected Area professionals in their work? Developed by the Nationale Naturlandschaften (formerly know as EUROPARC Germany), the project “Voluntourism for Biological Diversity” has exactly that in mind.

With new partnerships between Protected Areas and tourism operators, the project supports the conception, development and testing of attractive and meaningful holiday packages in four model areas (Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea and Müritz National Parks, Southern Black Forest Nature Park, Central Elbe Biosphere Reserve). Voluntourism for Biological Diversity in the National Natural Landscapes develops diverse tourism offers for young and old in National Parks, nature parks and biosphere reserves. The offers include short-term and one-off assignments as well as packages from tour operators.

Voluntourism offers attractive opportunities to promote and protect biodiversity while enjoying holiday in a practical and meaningful way.

The initiative is being realised in cooperation with a number of German Protected Areas and partners, including some EUROPARC members such as the Müritz National Park or the Mittelelbe Biosphere Reserve. Together, they have developed a variety of engagement opportunities where participants can discover natural treasures during their holidays, get to know regional cultural highlights and at the same time support conservation experts in their work.

Fixing bridges and creating shelters for wood grouse

After the long period of COVID restrictions, the first voluntourism assignments are now starting and looking for participants. All the voluntourism offers from the four model areas can be found on the platform www.naturschutz-im-urlaub.de.

Last week, the first day’s work has begun in the Feldberg nature reserve in the Southern Black Forest Nature Park, where a footbridge in a moorland landscape needs to be repaired. Another voluntourism opportunity in Feldberg involves wood grouse biotope maintenance, concretely clearing areas and piling branches to provide cover for the wood grouse.

The first project in the Müritz National Park will start on 5 August. After a joint bicycle tour, participants can roll up their sleeves and dispose of an old collection of jars that were once used to extract tree resin.

Download the press release (in German). The list of available voluntourism offers is available here.

Sometimes, it is incredibly difficult to communicate priority actions required for nature to people and other stakeholders. This is especially true when the management actions involve sensitive subjects and approaches. Communicating with care and with humour can be advantageous to ensure that the main messages get across.  

Competent Inclusive Communication was a blended learning course led by EUROPARC designed to help participants understand how to communicate meaningfully and with impact about their Natura 2000 site(s). Working through a series of interrelated topics, step-by-step, they increased their practical skills and gained new knowledge important for improving their communication competencies. The following describes the work of a EUROPARC member.

Meet Paul Rutten of Staatsbosbeheer, a Competent Inclusive Communication course participant

Paul Rutten, state forestry team manager in National Park Dunes of Texel found a way to present his work in a new and captivating way. 

He completed his final assignment for the Competent Inclusive Communication course  – which was a part of the LIFE e-Natura2000.edu capacity building project – by creating a comic book about wildlife management on a Dutch Island, Texel. 

Paul tackles a potentially sensitive nature management priority with pitch-perfect skill. He captures the Texel love-hate story between cats, wildlife, as well as people and tells this as a story about successful and clever ways to solve the problem of feral and stray cats in this Natura 2000 site.

Paul Rutten introduction

As Paul himself points out, the main goals of his comic-book are to:

• Inspire people to work together no matter what their differences are
• Respect different perspectives
• Use open communication: ask & listen instead of judging
• Find ambitions that help each party to succeed … more or less!

Take a look at his story and the approach Paul used and get inspired to explore new ways of communicating your visions and ideas!

Paul’s comic book “Shifting positions”

Stay connected: The eNatura2000 app

Within the project, an app was developed to help Natura 2000 managers and other nature professionals learn, discuss and connect together. The app is available on Google Play and App Store!

With the eNatura2000 app, users are able to:

• Network and e-connect with peers and professionals around Europe.
• Discuss issues and difficulties that arise in the management of Natura 2000 sites and other Protected Areas.
• Get inspired by existing best practices and solutions. Developed by EUROPARC with 5 partner organisations from around Europe, this practical tool will make networking across regions, countries, and land types for Natura2000 managers easy and enjoyable.

The digital tool will help Natura 2000 managers identify issues, solve common problems that they face, communicate with each other directly, as well as learn about their professional development needs. For more information on the app, go here.

The EUROPARC Youth Manifesto calls upon Parks and Protected Areas across Europe to get young people involved across all areas of Park Management. Ente Parco Naturale delle Prealpi Giulie answered to the call and established a Youth Advisory Board in their park!

Youth is ready to lead – that is the message that young people across Europe collected in the EUROPARC Youth Manifesto. However, they need to be given space to do so.

EUROPARC Youth Manifesto

Parks and Protected Areas are well placed to give young people in rural areas a voice. EUROPARC wants to support management bodies in doing so, be it through the Junior Ranger and Youth+ Programmes, or with the development of the Youth Manifesto. We want to champion success stories, because we know that Parks and Protected Areas are #StrongerWithYouth! Is your Park implementing the Youth Manifesto? Be sure to contact us under communications@europarc.org or use the #StrongerWithYouth so we can highlight your efforts!

Background of the Youth Advisory Board in Biosphere Reserve Prealpi Giulie

Young people in the Biosphere Reserve were active in the Youth Manifesto project of 2018. In 2019 the Youth Advisory Board was established in the Park. The areas of the Prealpi Giulie Nature Park was established as a MAB Biosphere Reserve in 2019. As such, in total it encompasses a territory of 11 Italian municipalities of the north-eastern part of the Friuli Region. As with many other rural areas young people tend to leave these places in search of more comfort in big cities. Often, they are not aware of the cultural and natural heritage that surrounds them and the opportunities that these places can give to young people. Additionally, often institutions have trouble reaching young people, so there was the need for a “young point of view”.

At EUROPARC we know how important it is to involve the next generation in the work of Protected Areas, to guarantee these places are well managed in the future.

The Park hat the same idea and wanted to involve young generations in the life of the territory and spread awareness about the natural heritage. Additionally, they knew that involving young people would result in fresh suggestions and proposals and, at the same time, cooperate and create a bond with the youngsters from the area, preventing them from leaving.

Springing into action

So, to keep young people connected to the area they grew up in, the Youth Advisory Board was established! On the board are almost 25 participants from 11 municipalities between 16 and 30 years. It gives them an opportunity to create informative meetings that deal with contemporary and sustainable topics and organize social events, such as festivals or hiking trips.

The idea is not just to get young people from the area involved, but also to inspire young people from all over Europe to start having an active role in their Protected Areas.