ESPARC 2018 - CEETO project represented at EUROPARC Spain Conference.
EUROPARC Federation representatives disseminate CEETO project at ESPARC 2018, the biannual Conference of the Spanish protected areas that gathers authorities, managers and technicians from the most relevant institutions of this country.
ESPARC, the biannual conference of the Spanish network of protected areas organised by EUROPARC Spain, took place from the 23rd to the 26th of May in Picos de Europa National Park and Biosphere Reserve. The reason of choosing this location was to commemorate the 100 anniversary of its creation, being Picos de Europa the 1st Spanish National Park to be designated in 1918. Over 160 participants attended to this event, most of them responsible of the planning and management of protected areas and N2000 sites in the country, together with conservation associations, technicians from environment departments of different municipalities, researchers, nature based businesses and tour operators.
ESPARC 2018 plennary session - Photo by EUROPARC Federation
At the Conference, a dedicated market place was hosted, in which institutions’ representatives could display information about their current actions and exchange experiences and knowledge with the rest of participants. EUROPARC Federation representatives took this opportunity to disseminated CEETO Interreg Central Europe project, which raise significant interest together with other initiatives related with sustainable tourism.
CEETO project presented at ESPARC's Marketplace - Photo by EUROPARC Federation
The main topic of the Conference was “ESPARC 2018: past, present and future of Protected Areas”, which also serves as a contribution to the programme “Society & Protected Areas 2020”. This programme calls for action to strengthen the system of protected areas in Spain and improve the benefits they bring to current generations and future ones. Furthermore, sustainable tourism plays a key role in this programme and it is supported by the great commitment that Spain has achieved to implement sustainable tourism practices. Likewise, ESPARC is a call to create alliances to increase the involvement of a well-informed society, committed and co-responsible with the challenges derived from global change and where terrestrial and marine protected areas should play an important role.
