Workshop on Participatory strategy development in Paklenica National Park

11th December 2020

An online Participatory strategy development workshop was organised on December 11th, 2020 by Public Institution Paklenica National Park in Croatia and moderated by external experts. Faced with the resulting pandemic situation, the workshop had to be held remotely, via Zoom. 

The aim of the workshop was to contribute to the development of the Regional Strategy, appropriate work program and additional participatory processes, to strengthen cooperation between protected areas, associated sectors (tourism, science and education, forestry, etc.) and local communities.

The workshop ‘Participatory strategy development’ represents a continuation of the previous workshop ‘Participatory situation analysis’, based on the results of which, with relevant stakeholders and experts from the project area, a ‘Regional Strategy’ and appropriate work programs will be developed. 

The stakeholders were divided into two groups, each group had its own moderator. Participants were divided into two working groups based on the principle that both groups have equal representation of stakeholders according to their areas of interest. The working groups worked jointly on the MIRO platform. The facilitators encouraged discussion among stakeholders on the following topics: 

  1. Tourism and visitor management 
  2. Regional and local development 
  3. Education and research 
  4. Cooperation and management 

At the end, all participants gathered again in the plenary part of the workshop, to jointly discuss, analyse and evaluate the outcomes of the working groups. Participants identified and prioritised the most important activities and measures that will contribute to the development and sustainability of the Regional Strategy.