europarc federation annual report · 2016-11-24 · 2 europarc federation annual report 2011 2011 a...

EUROPARC Federation Annual Report January - December 2011

Cover Photo: Syöte National Park (FI)Picture: Tuomas Uola

EUROPARC is the umbrella organisation

of Europe's protected areas. It unites national parks,

regional parks, nature parks and biosphere reserves

in 35 countries, with the common aim of protecting

Europe's unique variety of wildlife,

habitats and landscapes.

1

2

3

4

58

101215161718

19

20222426283032

34363840

Directors Review

Who we are

What we do

Communicating our messageRepresenting members interests in EuropeInvesting in young peopleSustainable tourism – business and nature in partnershipTransboundary cooperation – nature beyond boundariesVolunteer management – working for natureEUROPARC Awards 2011 – recognising achievementsOur working groups – harnessing expertise

Our European network

EUROPARC Atlantic IslesEUROPARC Czech RepublicFederparchi – EUROPARC ItalyEUROPARC FranceEUROPARC GermanyEUROPARC Nordic-BalticEUROPARC Spain

Our consultancy arm Our membersFinancial Report - changesContacts us

Content

Content

2 EUROPARC Federation Annual Report 2011

2011 a year of quality, unity and value

As Europe’s largest protected area networkingorganisation EUROPARC’s work in 2011 focused onproviding valuable services to its many membersacross Europe. EUROPARC enabled its members tobenefit from: an increased awareness of legal andpolicy issues in the European Union; thedevelopment of new ideas and innovation throughexperience exchange and the raising of standardsand greater efficiency and a stronger message inthe field of protected area management.

EUROPARC is therefore delighted that itsmembership has remained stable during 2011and that the organisation is maintaining itsservices to members in these financially difficulttimes. The communications work, of theFederation keeps members engaged and informedacross the network. Further development ofprogrammes and activities all provideEUROPARC’s members with tools that facilitateprotected area management. The success of theservices provided can be seen by the significantlevel of participation in the Federation’s eventsand activities by members during 2011.

The exchange of experience on both the policy andpractical issues of protected area site managementis invaluable and the networking between membersis a laboratory where new ideas, partnership andprojects are forged. The 2011 EUROPARCConference in the Schwabian Alp was a particularhighlight during the year and a good example of

such networking. The 330 delegates called upon theEU and its member states to establish the legal,financial and human resource conditions necessaryto fulfil the objectives of the Convention on logicalDiversity by 2020.

Continual development and improvement isnecessary if EUROPARC is to remain an effectiveand efficient network. As such the Federationrecognises the need to collaborate closely withother NGO’s and to seek to combine forces whereprudent and possible. In 2011 EUROPARC andEurosite members therefore agreed to increasethe existing collaboration by looking to thecreation of one representative organisation.

A new President, Thomas Hansson(SE), andcouncil were elected in September 2011 in theGeneral Assembly. The Assembly also badegoodbye to Council member Eberhard Henne(De), whose input to the work of the Federationwas gratefully appreciated, and to President ErikaStanciu, whose quiet yet strong leadership tookthe Federation through a challenging six years.

The year ahead looks to be another challengingyear with changes in staff and new projectdevelopment. As always EUROPARC looks forwardto the innovation 2012 will bring and in particularto working closely with its members to further theprotection of our shared natural heritage.

Carol Ritchie, EUROPARC Director

Directors Review

Carol RitchiePicture: Karin Björk

3Director’s Report and Who we are

Who we areThe EUROPARC Federation is a non-governmental organisation, founded in 1973. It has since grown to become Europe’s largestprotected areas network and currently has over420 members spanning 35 countries.

EUROPARC is built on the principle that Europe’snatural heritage can be better conserved andmanaged through international cooperation. Tothis end the organisation seeks opportunities fornetworking, exchange and collaboration in allareas of protected area work. Of equalimportance is communicating efficiently asa protected area community, particularlyconcerning the challenges and opportunities thatimpact on the management of Europe’s sharednatural heritage as well as the importance of thefundamental ecosystem services provided.Europe’s protected areas are essential forsustaining a healthy environment for society nowand in the future.

Members that make up the Federation’s networkare responsible for the management of Europe’sbiodiversity. They represent European, nationaland regional protected area designationsincluding Natura 2000 sites, national parks,biosphere reserves, regional parks and manymore. EUROPARC members also haveresponsibility for the overall implementation ofCommission directives, including themanagement of Natura 2000 sites.

EUROPARC is committed to the continualimprovement in the management of natureconservation and sustainable development, tobuild a coherent green network across Europe.

More information: www.europarc.org

Members ofEUROPARC comefrom protectedareas in 35EuropeanCountries.Picture: Christine Wawra

http://www.europarc.org

4

The Directorate of the EUROPARC Federation is committed to fulfilling the aims of the organisation andto deliver its strategic goals.

The work of the Federation is overseen by the EUROPARC Council and President. They bring a wealthof experience and expertise to bear on the work of the Federation and also represent EUROPARCacross Europe. A new Council and President were elected in 2011.

Where the Council is the driver, the Directorate of the EUROPARC Federation is the engine of theorganisation. The small team of six, split between the headquarters in Regensburg (DE), and an office in Brussels (B) manages a number of important European projects and represents the Federation and its members’ interests.

The work of the Federation is also supported by efforts from working groups on sustainable tourism, values of protected areas, health, wilderness and transboundary cooperation.

The efforts of the Council, the Directorate, the working groups and all others, individuals and members, who support the Federation, are to be commended. Work carried out is summarised in this section.

EUROPARC Federation Annual Report 2011

Syöte National Park (FI)Picture: Tuomas Uola

What we doThe Directorate Report

5

Communicating our message

Key activities 2011

Publications, promotion and publicityIn order to keep the EUROPARC Network anda wider public informed about protected areamanagement across Europe the following regularpublications were produced: 11 E-News, oneAnnual Report, one EUROPARC Journal“Protected Areas In-Sight”, one ConferenceReport and three Charter News Mails. In theframework of different projects, particularly Parks & Benefits, a number of reports andpublications were produced in digital and printed form.

New in 2011 were the EUROPARC and JuniorRanger Facebook pages which now have a total of450 fans between them. Together with the websitethey have contributed to the visibility of theFederation and Europe’s protected areas. Visits tothe EUROPARC website increased by over 6000last year to roughly 40,000 from 160 countries.

Articles about the activities of EUROPARCappeared in numerous publications around theglobe. Seven press releases were sent to pressacross Europe. A half hour programme on theEUROPARC Conference, featuring CouncilMember Marian Jäger-Woltgens, was producedand shown by the German television company

Fostering societal acceptance and understanding about biodiversity and the role ofprotected areas in Europe is crucial if support for action is to be harnessed. This canbe achieved through communicating messages about the values and benefits of ournatural heritage for society. In turn this will increase recognition of the importance ofprotecting these special places and lead to positive action.

It is for this reason that communications continued to play a pivotal role in the work ofthe EUROPARC Federation in 2011. Further, clear communications are essential ifmembers are to access the wealth of knowledge and experience that is held with thenetwork. Following the outcomes of the conference in 2010 a new nature message wascentral to the communications work this year. Activities in 2011 were based around theInternational Year of Forests and in particular on the European Year of Volunteers.

The Directorate Report

Captain MishaHills, DjerdapNational Park (RS).Picture: Dragan Bosnic

6

ZDF. In addition, the event “Get your Hands Dirtyfor Nature”, which took place in Brussels and wasfunded by the GRUNDTVIG project “VolunteerManagement in Parks” was filmed by a localtelevision station. The EUROPARC staff appearedin a newspaper local to Regensburg after takingpart in volunteering work for the nearby AltmühltalNature Park for the European Day of Parks(EDoP).

Events and representationEUROPARC represented its members’ interests ataround 40 international events throughout the year.These included the following events organised bythe Federation:

The European Day of Parks celebrated the EuropeanYear of Volunteers in 2011 with the motto “Voluntee-ring – Nature needs you”. Over 500 events wereregistered by 185 protected areas in 17 countries.

The EUROPARC seminar series at Gut Siggen (DE)continued this year, thanks to the Alfred ToepferFoundation (DE). This year the week was used bythe Directorate to develop a number of projectapplications and the Sustainable Tourism WorkingGroup and for the seminar “A New NatureMessage”. The seminar was attended by 18communications specialists from memberprotected areas in 11 different countries. HelenSpoor from the communications agency Futerraprovided the basis for work and discussion witha workshop on Branding Biodiversity.

The EUROPARC Conference 2011 was hosted bythe Schwabian Alp Biosphere Reserve in southernGermany in September and organised byEUROPARC Germany. 330 international expertsfrom the field of nature conservation attended theconference under the theme “Quality counts -Benefits for Nature and People”. The annualGeneral Assembly took place during theconference and saw the election of a newpresident, Thomas Hansson, and Council for theFederation. Members bade a sad farewell to ErikaStanciu who stepped down after two terms aspresident. In addition, closer cooperation betweenEUROPARC and Eurosite was discussed. Themembers unanimously voted that the creation ofone organisation should be pursued. Furthermore,discussions about a new strategy for theFederation began.

Three regular and one induction council meetingstook place in 2011. There were also two sectionmeetings. The aim of these meetings is to discussthe work of the Federation and ensure betterplanning and cooperation.


Participants of theSiggen Seminar

2011. Picture:

EUROPARC

7

Internal networking and partnershipsEUROPARC enjoyed stronger relations with all itsMemoranda of Understanding partners in 2011.Representatives from REDPARQUES, Parks Forumand the US National Park Service participated inand gave presentations at the Conference thisyear. The MOU with the US Parks Service wasrenewed and refreshed and signed with Jon JarvisUSNPS Director at the IUCN World ProtectedAreas Leadership meeting. EUROPARC workedclosely with the International Ranger Federationon a new Youth in Action project. Furthermore,plans were developed with Parks Forum for anexchange platform for protected area staff whichwill be launched in 2012.

Over the year EUROPARC has enjoyedpartnerships with many organisations. A full listcan be found at www.europarc.org/our-partners-and-funders. The Federation looks forward tocontinued cooperation with existing partners andto building fruitful relations with new partners overthe next 12 months.

The year ahead

In 2012 EUROPARC will continue to build on thecommunications work developed in previous yearsand develop new positive biodiversity messages toyoung people, and the wider society. A newCommunications Officer will take over fromMorwenna Parkyn in April and bring furtherinnovation to the organisations communicationwork.

The focus in 2012 will need to be on additionalfunding and marketing activities for the Federationand its members as well as and the developmentof new projects. Innovations will include expandingthe organisation’s social networking reach througha Twitter account and also a number of schemesto encourage more networking amongst members.

There are also a number of events taking place thisyear including the EDoP in May, which will focusthis year on the theme “See the sky. Touch a tree.Feel the air. Find yourself.” The Siggen Seminar willtake place in May as well and will see protectedarea practitioners learning about conflictmanagement. EUROPARC 2012 will take place inOctober in Genk, Belgium and will be centredaround the theme “(Re)connect”. It will be hostedby the Kempen and Maasland Regional Landscape.

More information: www.europarc.org

Contact: Morwenna [email protected]

Branding Biodiversity -the new nature

message from Futerra


EUROPARC Staffparticipate in theEuropean Day ofParks byvolunteering forAltmühltal NaturePark (DE). Picture: JohannBauch, AltmühltalNature Park

http://www.europarc.org/our-partners-and-funders




mailto:[email protected]

8

Key activities 2011

2011 was a year with many new developments forthe European Union. These included discussionsand crucial decisions concerning the revision ofseveral policies and financing programmes relevantfor EUROPARC’s protected areas network. Amongthem were: the CAP reform, the EU 2020 BiodiversityStrategy, N2000 sites, the new BiogeographicalSeminar process, the review of the LIFE + financingprogramme, a new policy for green infrastructure,and sustainable tourism in the EU. The EUROPARCFederation was able to provide input; drawing fromits member’s experience, into these importantEuropean initiatives, which themselves will impactmembers when implemented.

EUROPARC also created new and strongerpartnerships with other environmentalorganisations based in Brussels. The organisationremains an active member of the EuropeanHabitats Forum. Cooperation with BirdLifeInternational, the European Environmental Bureau(EEB), European Landowners Organisation (ELO),World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the InternationalUnion for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) wasbased on the EU’s biodiversity policy and ona joint position regarding the CAP reform process.

The Federation also has a representative in theN2000 and Sustainable Tourism Expert Groups ofthe Environment and Enterprise DirectorateGenerals (DG). Here EUROPARC represents

Representing members interests in Europe

The policy and advocacy activities of the Federation in 2011 sought to gain furthersupport for Europe’s protected areas and EUROPARC members from EuropeanUnion institutions. The EUROPARC Federation operates with a strong pan-European strategy to create a more effectively managed natural environment.EUROPARC members have the responsibility for the implementation of Europeandirectives in their respective member states and a substantial majority of ourmembers actively manage Natura 2000 (N2000) sites within their protected areas.The work of the organisations members in their protected areas is directly relevantand pertinent to the European Commission’s priorities.


Cover of the CAP factsheets produced and supported by a consortium of European NGOs including EUROPARC

9The Directorate Report

Agriculturallandscape in theCotswolds AONB(UK). Picture: Nick Turner

member’s views on both technical matters and theimplementation of related policies.

Success and challenges

“The Common Agricultural Policy reform: the roleof protected areas” was the theme of a verysuccessful seminar organised in January 2011 in Brussels. It was a good opportunity forparticipants to share views on the reform and todefine new strategies and initiatives to takeforward joint positions through publications andpress releases. This clarity has enabledEUROPARC to participate in consultations andmeetings with input from members. EUROPARCwas also represented at the European AgricultureMinsters meeting by council member GaborSzilagyi during the Hungarian presidency of the EU.

During the year EUROPARC also met withrepresentatives of the Tourism Unit of DG Enterprise,to present the work the Federation has beendeveloping over the last 15 years with the EuropeanCharter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas.

The work on policy and advocacy completed in2011 also lead to the development of several newproject applications.

The year ahead

For the EU, 2012 is a crucial year. Many of thepolicies that are already under discussion will beapproved. New ambitious targets for halting andreversing the loss of biodiversity in Europe by 2020and a new EU Biodiversity Strategy have beenadopted setting out concrete priority measures forachieving these targets. Aligning the BiodiversityStrategy targets with the Convention on BiologicalDiversity’s Programme of Work should ensurecross compliance and the synchronisation of workfor protected area managers across thesecommitments. Mobilising EUROPARC’s network ofprotected landscapes across Europe, includingN2000 sites will be a key mechanism in thesuccessful implementation of this strategy. ThusEUROPARC’s active involvement in this debate, in partnership with its members and otherorganisations, will be very important.

In 2012 the Federation will alsocelebrate 20 years of N2000 andLIFE, and continue to contributeto the Expert Groups’ activitiesmentioned above. Another aimis to strengthen connections to relevant Membersof the European Parliament regarding the needs ofEurope’s protected areas.

Contact: Federico [email protected]


10

Investing in young people


Junior Rangersat the

InternationalCamp 2011.

Picture: Federico Minozzi

Key activities 2011

Youth in ActionIn 2011 EUROPARC successfully applied for a six month project, “Action for Youth in Parks”, co-financed by the European Union’s DirectorateGeneral Education and Culture learning “Youth inAction Programme”. The project aimed to improvequality standards in the delivery of youthenvironmental education across Europe. The mainactivity of this project was the organisation andrealization of a five day workshop for Europeanrangers in Denmark in November. Twenty sevenrangers from 15 European countries took part inthe workshop which looked at the main issuesrelated to environmental education for youngpeople.

The Junior Ranger Network The International Junior Ranger camp took placethis year in the Weerribben-Wieden National Park(NL), and was dedicated to the topic “HealthyParks, Healthy People”. Fifty participants from tendifferent countries attended the event and tookpart in the fun but informative activities organisedby the park.

This year a new Junior Ranger Facebook page waslaunched to improve networking and get JuniorRangers more involved in the network. In additionKullaberg Nature Reserve (SE) Majjistral Natureand History Park (MT), and many Germanparks started Junior Ranger programmesin 2011. Moreover an international JuniorRanger exchange, financed withLeader+ resources, took placebetween the Cairngorms and theBavarian Forest National Parks(UK/DE).

EUROPARC is actively involved in supporting European protected areas to developinnovative environmental education programmes and initiatives that closely involvelocal communities and civil society.

11

Junior Rangersenjoying thewater at theinternationalCamp inWeeriben-WiedenNational Park(NL). Picture: Federico Minozzi



The Junior Ranger Camp was a wonderful event.The most interesting outcome in 2011 was a projectidea that was developed by the participants fora joint international communications campaign toraise visitor awareness about the effects of litter andwaste in protected areas.

The new Facebook page and new members to thenetwork were also positive developments.Furthermore the Youth in Action workshop wasa good opportunity to see how the Junior Rangerprogramme is implemented in different countriesand to share experiences and best practices.

The year ahead

In 2012 a report will be published on the results ofthe Action for Youth in Parks project and a bestpractise guidance booklet. EUROPARC also hopesto implement follow-up activities during thecourse of the year.

The 2012 Junior Ranger Camp will be hosted bythe Triglav National Park (SL), in transboundarycooperation with Prealpi Giulie Regional Park (IT),in July.

Further information: www.europarc.org/what-we-do/junior-ranger


Rangers from across Europeat the Youth in Parks

workshop in November. Picture: Federico Minozzi

http://www.europarc.org/what-we-do/junior-ranger



Networking in 2011

From 28th June – 1st July this year over 200 protectedarea practitioners met from 21 countries to listen tospeeches, attend workshops and network on thetopic of sustainable tourism. The conference“Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas. Buildingbridges - Seeking Solutions” took place in DjerdapNational Park (RS). The focus of the seventh CharterNetwork Meeting was EUROPARC’s EuropeanCharter for Sustainable Tourism.

The Charter Network was expanded when 12 newCharter areas were awarded the European Charterat the annual EUROPARC conference in 2011; fiveareas were also revaluated. In July seven newverifiers were trained for the increasing number ofCharter evaluations on the Island of Vilm (DE).

Project work

The EUROPARC Federation was also involved inthree projects, each concerning sustainabletourism but all taking the Charter forward.EUROPARC would like to thank the entire Charternetwork for their help and support with all threeprojects below:

CharterNetworking

meetingDjerdap

National Park(RS).

Picture: DjerdapNational Park

EUROPARC has been involved in the field of sustainable tourism since thedevelopment of its European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in 1995. The Charter isa practical management tool developed by the Federation. It enables protected areasto develop and manage tourism sustainably alongside the private enterprises andcommunities. 89 protected areas in eight European countries currently have Charterstatus with more joining every year!

Sustainable tourism – business and nature in partnership


Parks & BenefitsPARKS & BENEFITS was a Baltic Sea RegionProgramme project (2009-2012) and thus animportant contribution to the EU-Strategy for theRegion and its objectives. It aimed to ensuresustainable regional development in eightprotected areas in six countries in the Regionusing EUROPARC’s European Charter forSustainable Tourism.

The project was approaching its end in the finalmonths of 2011 and the partners met for the lasttime at the South-Rügen Biosphere Reserve (DE)in October. The project was a great success andproduced a number of fantastic results not onlyfor the partners involved but for the widerprotected area network. Two of results worthmentioning here are: “The Guide to SustainableTourism in Protected Areas” and “Public-PrivateSector Partnerships: Mutual Benefits forBusiness and Protected Areas”. Bothpublications are available from EUROPARC. In addition the EUROPARC exhibition “LivingParks” was extended at the beginning of the yearto include information about the project parksand was hosted by five of the participatingprotected areas.

The value of the “Charter” in identifyingsustainable tourism destinations There has been much discussion in recent yearsabout sustainable tourism destination particularlyfrom the European Commission. EUROPARC wasa pioneer in the field of sustainable tourism forprotected areas with the establishment of theCharter in 1995 but times have changed and thesustainable destinations project presents a goodopportunity to take a good look at the Charter andits economic value for protected areas. This a two-year project funded by the German FederalAgency for Nature Conservation (BfN). It involvesnine partners who form a study group ofexperienced Charter protected areas.

In 2011 a report detailing the comparison betweenthe Charter and proposals from the EuropeanCommission was produced. In addition, the“magic numbers” data set for the Charter, firstcreated during the CharterNet project, wasrefined. This is a data set that will provideevidence of the scope and breadth of Charterareas and thus sustainable tourism acrossEurope. This valuable data set will be a usefullobbying tool in EUROPARC’s work with theEuropean Union. Furthermore, a thoroughanalysis of the past ten years of Charterevaluations has been undertaken. The extractedcase studies will be analysed during 2012 anda best-practice publication will hopefully beproduced.

Verifiers training2011, Island ofVilm (DE).Picture:EUROPARC


Sustainable Tourism in Enterprises, Parks andProtected Areas (STEPPA)STEPPA came to an end in November 2011. It was a project funded through the EuropeanUnion’s Grant programme “Knowledge networksfor the competitiveness and sustainability ofEuropean Tourism”. Bringing together 10 partnersfrom across Europe, the project sought toenhance the competitiveness of tourismenterprises in protected areas whilst enabling theexperiences of differing tourism businesscertification systems to be shared and analysed.

For 18 months the project partners, led by theUniversity of Eastern Finland, gathered data andshared experiences. Two surveys were carried outthat give a snapshot of the attitudes andresponses of business ad customers choosinga more sustainable business and some measuresof economic impact are also considered. The dataproduced was made available to and customisedfor those who took part in the survey. Their resultsare available on the EUROPARC website inmultiple languages and they can be used astemplates by those undertaking similar surveys inthe future.

In addition, the Charter tourism businessmethodologies were scrutinised in this projectand suggestions made for improvement andchange. A proposal for one methodology will be finalised through the dedicated work ofEUROPARC’s sustainable tourism working group.

More information: www.european-charter.org

Contact: [email protected]

Charterawardees 2011.

Picture:Christine Wawra

The STEPPA Project came to and end in 2011and produced some useful results

http://www.european-charter.org


15

Krkonoše - Karkonosze Mountains transboundary area (CZ/PL)are reevaluated. Picture: Christine Wawra

Key activities 2011

From 7th to 10th June 2011 the third TransParcNetmeeting was held in the transboundary NationalParks Krkonoše (Czech Republic) - Karkonosze(Poland) Mountains. It was attended by 35representatives of transboundary protected areasfrom across Europe. The topics covered in themeeting were focused on the development ofbetter transboundary cooperation and in particularthe work of sustainable tourism withina transboundary setting.

At the General Assembly at the 2011 EUROPARCconference Krkonoše National Park (CZ) andKarkonoše National Park (PL) as well OulankaNational Park (FI) and Paanajärvi National Park(RU) were re-awarded their transboundarycertificate after more than five years of successfulcooperation. At the end of the year EUROPARCreceived an application for Transboundary statusfrom Saxon Switzerland and BohemianSwitzerland National Parks (DE/CZ) with the ElbeSandstone Protected Landscape Area (CZ). TheGerman Dutch TBPA Maas-Schwalm-Nette hasalso applied for reevaluation in 2012.

There were a number of additional events andmeetings that looked at developing the programme:• the first transboundary verifiers training was

held on the Island of Vilm (DE) in July• the members of the Transboundary Steering and

Evaluation Committee (STEC) met twice in 2011to discuss the future of the programme

• the working group met once at the EUROPARCConference

• an intern with the EUROPARC Federationcollected information on all TBPAs in Europeand also carried out a survey to establish magicnumbers for the current TBPAs

The year ahead

In 2012 the promotion of the transboundaryprogramme will continue and the network willbecome stronger with its three new members. Thefourth TransParcNet meeting will take place from11th – 14th June in the Inari-Vätsäri Wilderness Area(FI), Øvre-Pasvik National Park (NO) and PasvikZapovednik (RU) transboundary area.

More information: www.europarc.org/what-we-do/transboundary-parks

Contact: [email protected]

Transboundary cooperation –nature beyond boundaries

The EUROPARC Transboundary Following Nature’s Design programme was launchedin 2003. It promotes greater awareness of the common responsibility for borderregions as well as the values and benefits of transboundary management betweenprotected areas. There are currently 17 certified EUROPARC transboundary protectedareas (TBPAs) that form a network of best practice examples in transboundarycooperation and provide technical support to other European TBPAs


http://www.europarc.org/what-we-do/transboundary-parks


16

2011 marked the European Year of Volunteering. This was the perfect framework fora number of EUROPARC activities and particularly for the project “Volunteermanagement in European Parks” that kicked-off in February 2011. The project isa GRUNDTVIG project financed by the European Unions Lifelong LearningProgramme and follows on from a previous project on the same subject. It aims toimprove the quality of volunteer management in protected areas.

Volunteer management – working for nature

Key activities 2011

EUROPARC Germany, lead project partner,coordinated the various activities that werecarried out by the nine other project partners from around Europe in 2011.

EUROPARC’s main responsibility is tocommunicate and disseminate information on the project and on the values and benefits ofvolunteering for protected areas and for the civilsociety. This has been done through regularproject updates on the website and in ourpublications and the coordination ofcommunications activities amongst the partners.In addition the European Day of Parks 2011 wasdedicated to volunteering this year, a workshop on the topic of volunteering was organised at the EUROPARC Conference, and an outdoorsvolunteering workshop was organised in Brussels.

Success and Challenges

Many of EUROPARC’s members were involved inthe celebration of the European Year ofVolunteering through the events mentioned above.This was a very positive development with regardsto the promotion of the important work volunteersdo in protected areas around Europe every year. For the European Day of Parks over 500 events onthe theme of volunteering were registered by 185protected areas in 17 countries. The outdoorvolunteering workshop organised in Novemberwas attended by officials from the EuropeanUnion’s Directorate General of the Environmentand other environmental organisations. 35 peopleworked side by side for a day getting their handsdirty for nature in a Natura 2000 area in Brussels.

The year ahead

The GRUNDTVIG project on volunteering willcontinue during 2012. In the framework of theproject a study will be carried out which evaluatesthe benefits of volunteering in parks on localcommunities and volunteers. FurthermoreEUROPARC will continue to communicate aboutthe project and results will be passed to our widernetwork as and when they are available.

More information:www.europarc.org/what-we-do/volunteer-management



Participants of the "Getting our Hands Dirtyfor Nature" event in Brussels. Picture: Federico Minozzi

http://www.europarc.org/what-we-do/volunteer-management



EUROPARC Awards 2011 – recognising achievementsAlfred Toepfer Natural Heritage Scholarships

Each year the EUROPARC Federation incooperation with the Alfred Toepfer Foundationawards three Alfred Toepfer Natural HeritageScholarships to promising young conservationistswith practical experience in the field ofconservation and in the work of protected areas.The scholarships enable them to undertake a studyvisit to one or more protected areas in Europeancountries other than their own. The awards areeach worth EUR 3.000 and are generously donatedby the Alfred Toepfer Foundation (DE). They arepresented to the scholarship winners each year atthe annual EUROPARC conference.

The three winners in 2011 were Tünde Ludnai,Ross Watson and Robbert Casier. Tünde (HU) willstudy the role of rangers in the different fields ofmanagement of Special Protection Areas (SPAsunder the Bird Directive) and Special Areas ofConservation (SACs) under the Habitats Directive.Ross (Scotland, UK) aims to develop Europeanpartnerships and information sharing in the fieldof grazing management across woodland habitats.Robbert (BE) hopes to increase communicationand exchange of knowledge between MarineProtected Areas (MPAs) and World Heritagemarine sites in the Mediterranean Sea.

Alfred Toepfer Medal

The Alfred Toepfer Medal, named after the founderof the EUROPARC Federation, Dr h.c. AlfredToepfer (1894-1993) is awarded annually byEUROPARC in recognition of a particularindividual who has made a significant contributionto nature protection in Europe. This year the awardwent to Dr Hans Biebelrieter for his work ininternational relations in the field of natureprotection and his work in shaping protected areasacross Europe and at home in Germany.

The National Park Bavarian Forest is Dr HansBibelriether’s life’s work. It was under hisleadership that this first German national parkdeveloped to be an outstanding and well knowninternational nature reserve. Dr Biebelriether hasalso worked intensively on in the field of Europeanprotected area management and has hada considerable impact on many functions of thedevelopment of large protected areas in Europe.

Dr Hans Biebelriether nomination for this awardwas led by the Bavarian Forest National Park (DE)and Czech protected areas. The laudation speechat the conference was given by Eberhardt Hennewho has worked extensively with the awardee.

More information on both the award andscholarships: www.europarc.org/what-we-do/

Contact: Regina [email protected]

Alfred Toepfer Scholarship winners 2011. Picture: Christine Wawra

Dr. HansBiebelriether (DE),winner of the AlfredToepfer Medal 2011. Picture: Christine Wawra

http://www.europarc.org/what-we-do/



Our working groups –harnessing expertiseIn five themed working groups the EUROPARCFederation brings together experts from ourmembership and around Europe to focus onissues important to protected areas and N2000sites across the continent. These working groupsconsider policy issues, bring together bestpractice, develop new methodologies and look tofuture agenda and development. Each workinggroup is mandated to examine subjects ofrelevance to protected areas in Europe and deliveractivities and output that would benefit the widermembership. Over 40 members from countriesacross Europe are actively involved in workinggroups.

Health and Protected AreasThe Health Working Group focused on projectplanning, situation analysis at national level andthe topic of benchmarking in 2011. In addition,they established links with the Scandinavianproject 'frisk i naturen‘ and held a workshop at theannual EUROPARC Conference

Sustainable TourismThe members of the Sustainable Tourism workinggroup met three times in 2011. They reviewed theroles of the actors involved in the EuropeanCharter for Sustainable Tourism in ProtectedAreas; gave their input into the Charter projectsSTEPPA and Sustainable Tourism Destinations;looked at funding models and developmentprojects for the Charter; and helped organise the2011 CharterNet meeting in Serbia.

TransboundaryIn 2011 the transboundary group met twice todiscuss the development of the EUROPARCTransboundary Programme. They also helped withthe organisation of and participated in the annualTransParcNet meeting and provided advice andinput into the verifiers training in June. Finallythey were involved in the reevaluation of twotransboundary protected areas.

WildernessThe Wilderness Working Group is using a grant fromWWF Europe as well as generous support from WildEurope to develop work in the field of wilderness.A LIFE application was submitted for a project tofurther skills in the management of wilderness inNatura 2000 sites. Additionally the group have beendrafting a clear definition of wilderness that can beadopted by the EU and developing a wildernessregister with the consortium.

The Value of Protected AreasIn 2009 the Economics of Ecosystems andBiodiversity report (TEEB) showed that the valueof ecosystem services provided by nature to oursociety is much greater than previouslyacknowledged. This Working Group looks todevelop this concept in connection with protectedareas. Its members came together for the firsttime at the EUROPARC conference, wherea strategy was discussed regarding theforthcoming tasks that are to be taken forward in2012. In addition, a LIFE application on a projectdealing with peatland economics and carbonstorage was drafted for submission in 2012.

More information: www.europarc.org/who-we-are/our-working-groups

Sustainable Tourism Working Group met in Olot (ES) in May 2011.Picture: Lasse Loven

http://www.europarc.org/who-we-are/our-working-groups

19

Over the years the Federation has supported the creation of seven regional andnational sections. The Sections fulfil many of the EUROPARC Federation’s aims,whilst reflecting the priorities and characteristics of the areas they cover. Theyundertake a huge volume of work to a high professional standard and both supportand stimulate the work of the Federation as a whole. Only Federation members canform or be members of Sections of EUROPARC. Full Section reports can be obtainedfrom them individually but a summary of their achievements is detailed in thischapter.

Our European networkEUROPARC Federation Section Reports

EUROPARC Federation Section Reports

Syöte National Park (FI)Picture: Tuomas Uola


EUROPARC Atlantic IslesKey activities 2011

In 2011 the EUROPARC Atlantic Isles’ (EAI) workprogramme helped strengthen the protected areanetwork within the four countries of the UnitedKingdom, Ireland and Iceland. The Section and itsmembers continued to play an active role withinthe EUROPARC Federation.

Economic benefits of protected landscapesA successful seminar, ‘Protect and prosper,Optimising the economic benefits of designatedlandscapes’, was held in February 2011 in Oxford.The event, which attracted participants fromacross the UK, Ireland and Europe, highlightedthe economic benefits of designated landscapesand areas and explored ongoing researchinitiatives, project work and practical examples.

Coastal and marine issuesThe EAI coastal and marine working group helda successful networking meeting in Birminghamin July. Issues explored included marine planningand seascape character assessment. The group isalso working to promote the UK Manifesto forCoasts and Seascapes, published in April 2011with several other NGOs.

Volunteer Management in European ParksEAI is a partner in the GRUNDTVIG funded project‘Volunteer Management in European Parks’.Volunteer coordinators from three UK protectedlandscapes attended a training seminar inRomania in May.

Junior RangersEAI is supporting members with developingJunior Ranger schemes and in the networking ofprotected areas with programmes. A seminar washeld at Losehill Hall in February and a projectapplication was prepared at the end of the year todevelop the UK network.

High Cup, NorthPennines AONB

(UK). Picture: North

Pennines AONB,Shane Harris

21Section Reports

Health and Protected AreasEAI member and supporter Scottish NaturalHeritage hosted a delegation from the Nordic-Baltic Section, to learn about Scottish experiencein this field.

The European Charter for Sustainable TourismThe Causeway Coast and Glens Heritage Trust andthe Cotswolds Conservation Board were awardedCharter status for the first time in 2011. TheBroads Authority and the Cairngorms NationalPark underwent successful re-evaluations.

CommunicationsEAI upgraded its website in the course of 2011.Information on UK and European developmentswas provided regularly in its E-News bulletins. EAI also uses Twitter and Facebook.


The wider economic environment presenteda challenge to EAI and its membership in 2011.Even so EAI continued to contribute to the life ofthe Federation, with staff, trustees, and membersparticipating at the Federation’s annualconference and in working group and sectionmeetings.

The year ahead

The austere economic climate in the UK andIreland will continue to have a major impact onthe sections members and supporters; indeed thechallenges of 2011 will become more acute in2012. EAI is seeking to acquire new sources offunding to provide additional services tomembers. The provision of networking servicesand opportunities for exchange of expertisetailored to our members’ needs in the AtlanticIsles region, whilst drawing on the added value ofthe Federation’s pan-European work programme,remains important. EAI will also contribute tomaking a success of the cooperation betweenEUROPARC Federation – Eurosite.

Further information: www.europarc-ai.org

Contact: Richard [email protected]

PembrokeshireCoast NationalPark (UK).Picture: Marloes

http://www.europarc-ai.org


22

TransParcNetparticipants.

Picture:Andrzej Raj


EUROPARC Czech Republic

Key activities 2011

Transboundary Parks ProgrammeIn 2011 the aim to certify all four Czech nationalparks under the EUROPARC programme"Transboundary Parks - Following Nature's design"was fulfilled when the last national park, ČeskéŠvýcarsko, applied to the programme togetherwith its neighbor, the Saxony Switzerland NationalPark (DE).

At the annual EUROPARC Conference 2011 inBad Urach representatives of the KrkonošeMountains (CZ) and Karkonoski Park NarodowyNational Parks (PL) were re-awarded theirTransboundary certificate. This showed that theseparks not only still cooperate to high standard butthat their collaboration is ever improving.

In June the Czech Section organised the thirdTransboundary Parks Network (TransParcNet)meeting on the border of the Krkonoše (CZ) andKarkonosze National Parks (PL). Luční bouda, oneof the oldest and largest mountain chalets in theKrkonoše hosted some 35 representatives fromtransboundary protected areas across Europe.

New presidency for the SectionIn the second half of the year the Czech sectionbegan a new presidency. The president of thesection for the next three years will be MichaelHošek, Nature Conservation Agency of the CzechRepublic. Michael will also be representing allsections on the EUROPARC Council in the2011/2012 period.

The EUROPARC Czech section brings together EUROPARC members who manage largeprotected areas in the Czech Republic: four national parks and the Nature ConservationAgency of the Czech Republic, Palacký University in Olomouc and honorary member Mr. Jan Štursa. Key activities are aimed at cooperation, information and expertiseexchange, promotional and educational activities. The section members also take part inEUROPARC projects, programmes and seminars.

23Section Reports

The year ahead

The Czech section has set several goals for thenext year with the aim to increase its activity bothat national and international levels. 2012 startswith lobbying activities concerning theestablishment of an international section coveringthe wider region of Central Europe. The newEUROPARC section will bring significant benefitsto its members, such as, including strengtheningand promoting existing cooperation in CentralEurope and facilitating opportunities for jointnature conservation cooperation and projects.

Further information: www.europarc.cz

Contact: Michael Hoš[email protected]

KrokonoseMountain (CZ).Picture: Kamila Antosova

Mountain chaletLuční bouda (CZ).

Picture: Marek Dobrowolski

http://www.europarc.cz



Federparchi – EUROPARC ItalyFederparchi was created in 1989 as a body co-ordinating several Italian regional parks. It was transformed into the Italian Federation of Parks and Natural Reserves in 1996. The organisation encompasses most of the Italian protected areas, regions, provinces,municipalities and environmental associations. In 2008 Federparchi became theEUROPARC Italian Section, “Federparchi – EUROPARC Italy”. The reason behind thischange was the realisation that nature protection and sustainable development can beachieved more successfully when working internationally.

Key activities 2011

In 2011 the Italian section decided to focus itsattention on the promotion and implementation ofthe European Charter for Sustainable Tourism(ECST) in Protected Areas in Italy. Federparchiprovided technical assistance regarding theprocess of the ECST to Abruzzo, Lazio and MoliseNational Park, Colli Euganei Regional Park, MonteRufeno Natural Reserve, Veglia Devero RegionalPark, Val Grande National Park and seven regionalparks of the Apulia Region.

The dissemination of the document ‘Annual SocialStatement’ to members was again a greatsuccess in 2011. It is a key tool for protected areasthat helps them to find the value of their areas.The Section provided those going through thisprocess with support.

Public events on protected area managementwere held throughout the year and involved largenumbers of public and stakeholders. Furthermorethe Section organised several conferences tocelebrate the anniversary of the Italian law onprotected areas. These events put forwardsuggestions and initiated projects regarding therevision of the law.

International activities were predominantly linkedto the election of the Sections President,Giampiero Sammuri, to the EUROPARC Council.

Barrea Lake atAbruzzo Lazio and

Molise NationalPark (IT).

Picture: ALMNP Archives

25Section Reports


The severe economic crisis affected politicalchoices deeply in 2011 in Italy. Italian protectedareas were in the line of fire as a result of thisseveral times during the year. Federparchi,however, continued its lobbying activity to showthat parks are spaces where innovation andsustainable solutions become models of bestpractice with success. The section succeeded inkeeping the attention on the essential role ofprotected areas in stopping environmentaldegradation and increasing the quality of life. The challenge was to continuously strengthen theprotected area network to make it a politicalsubject that cannot be ignored.

The year ahead

In 2012 Federparchi will hold an extraordinaryassembly and board election. The year ahead willtherefore be particularly busy and significant forthe association. In addition, regular activities willalso continue. These include: dissemination ofinformation and support in the application for theECST, developing the ‘Annual Social Statement’,re-training protected area managers, enhancingand extending effective environmental education,collaborating in national and internationalprojects and working closely with the EUROPARCFederation.

Further information: www.europarc.it

Contact: Francesca [email protected]

Informingstakeholdersabout theCharter inPuglia (IT). Picture:Federparchi-EUROPARCItaly

Giampiero Sammuri, president ofFederparchi-EUROPARC Italy.

Picture: Federparchi-EUROPARC Italy

http://www.europarc.it


26

EUROPARC FranceKey activities 2011

Contribution of the French section to theEUROPARC lobbying strategyThe Vice President of the French Section presenteda position paper from the French Federation ofRegional Natural Parks (FFRNP) during theEUROPARC Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)workshop in Brussels in February. The paperrequested a stronger territorial approach anda more effective greening of the new CAP. Theposition of the French section was included in thecontents of a letter to the European Commissionfrom the EUROPARC Federation on the CAP.

A programme of technical support to mobilizeEuropean fundsA specific initiative was developed by the Sectionin the first quarter of 2011, which aims to helpFrench natural parks use European funds moreefficiently in their regions. This was part of thewider EU project, EUROP’ACT, which iscoordinated by the FFRNP. The project facilitatesthese parks with the implementation of Europeanprogrammes and encourages the development ofstrategic projects.

The European Charter for Sustainable TourismIn 2011 the French working group onEUROPARC’s European Charter for SustainableTourism:• elaborated a new French methodology for the

second part of the Charter, which awardsbusinesses in the participating areas, bringingcommon elements and aspirations from allFrench protected areas together;

• began elaborating a pilot model for theimplementation of Charter part three, a sectionof the Charter that has not yet beenimplemented and is currently under discussionand evaluation;

• developed a new project based on proposals forthe third part of the Charter together with theassociation inter-parks of the Massif Central(IPAMAC). The project was selected by theEnvironmental Ministry of France and looks at building connections with the tourism sectorand tour operators working within the protectedareas.

Pilat RegionalPark (FR).

Picture: F Olivier


27

Active participation at the EUROPARCConference 2011At the EUROPARC Conference in Bad Urach theSection presented their “flowering meadows”competition to participants of the workshop“Increase and manage biodiversity”. Three priorityareas were recognised by participants:• More support for farmers in European protected

areas and their positive work for biodiversity• Promotion of this experience at European level

bringing the competition to a European level in 2012

• To highlight the importance of biodiversity withinthe CAP and vice versa, mention agriculturewithin the European Strategy for Biodiversity


Of the 33 members of the French section, 19 hadbeen awarded the European Charter for SustainableTourism up to and including 2011, and six arecurrently taking part in the application process.

The year ahead

In 2012 the Section will focus on the followingactivities:• Allowing selected protected areas outside of

France to participate in the “floweringmeadows” competition. In 2012 the competitionwill be open to protected areas which sharea border with French protected areas.

• Continue to implement and evaluate the secondpart of the Charter, working with businesses inCharter areas, and share the first results of thework on the third stage of the Charter with theother sections.

• Maintain the lobbying activities with EuropeanInstitutions for a better recognition of theprotected areas as crucial actors for in thesustainable management of the EU territories.

More information: www.europarc-fr.org

Contact: Anne L’[email protected]

Meeting of the expert group of the project SustainableTourism Destinations in Scarpe-Escaut Regional Park (FR). Picture: C. Mairesse

French protected areasparticipating in theflowering meadows

competition 2011

Section Reports

http://www.europarc-fr.org



EUROPARC Germany

Key activities 2011

EUROPARC 2011: European Protected AreaconferenceFrom 21st to 25th September 2011 the small town ofBad Urach in the Swabian Alb Biosphere Reserve(DE) hosted the largest protected area networkingevent in Europe and EUROPARC Germany wasresponsible for its organisation andimplementation. Over 330 participants from 40countries came together to exchange informationand experiences under the theme “Quality Counts– Benefits for Nature and People”. The conferencewas not just a great success with EUROPARCmembers. 25 % of the guests were non-members.This shows clearly that the conference hasbecome one of the most influential internationalevents in the field of protected area management.

Podium discussions, speeches from experts,workshops and excursions all ensured thatparticipants worked together towards a strongerand more visible international protected areanetwork and increased international relations. At the end of the conference the Bad Urachdeclaration was adopted. The document isdirected to political decision-makers on variouslevels and demands better financial and humanresources for protected areas as well asa modification of existing legal parameters. The 20th anniversary of EUROPARC Germany wasalso celebrated in style.

Hainich NationalPark (DE).

Picture: Rüdiger Biehl

The realisation of the annual EUROPARC conference, the largest European Protected Areanetwork event, was EUROPARC Germanys largest and most challenging activity in 2011.Great coordination and a large number of highly motivated international participants madethe event a huge success.

29Section Reports

Climate mitigation certificates to help financenature protection projectsEUROPARC Germany supports the basic conceptwhere an appropriate financial recompense forprotected areas working in climate mitigationsshould be made The idea being tested is to “sell”the valuation given to these quality certificates, toprivate persons or to companies. The income fromthese sales would then go directly back intofinancing climate mitigation activities inpeatlands, grasslands or forests. EUROPARCGermany is developing an online platform to putthis idea into action. The platform involves allparticipants in the transactions process. Theplatform offers businesses the chance to supportclimate mitigation projects on their own doorstep.This leads to better identification with the regionand is consistent with the growing trend topromote the image of environmental action.

In 2011 EUROPARC Germany carried out a pilotstudy on the implementation of this project idea.It was financed by the German Federal Agency forNature Protection with resources from the FederalMinistry for the Environment, Nature Protectionand Nuclear Safety. The results of the study willform the basis for the development of the platformin 2012.

The year ahead

In 2012 the German section will continue todevelop projects with a focus on the theme“people and nature in parks”. The Junior Rangerproject is growing and “Nature: a matter of pride”is also still in great demand. EUROPARC Germanyhopes to create long-term self-supportingstructures for these successful projects andfurther activities. The change in management in2011 also influences the coming year. The newDirector Dr. Elke Baranek aims to create strongersynergies across the projects so that they profitfrom each other. In doing so she hopes toincrease the efficiency and the stability of theassociations work.

Further information: www.europarc-deutschland.de

Contact: Dr. Elke [email protected]

President of theGerman SectionGuido Puhlmannwith the Major ofBad Urach.Picture: Christine Wawra

http://www.europarc-deutschland.de



EUROPARC Nordic-Baltic

Key activities 2011

The EUROPARC Nordic-Baltic Sections mainactivities in 2011 were a number of seminars andmeetings which enabled exchange and networkingamongst members across the region. Thefollowing seminars were held: a nature tourismseminar in Riga, Latvia; an ecosystem servicesseminar in Kristianstad Vattenrike BiosphereReserve, Sweden; and a volunteering seminar inTiikurila, Finland. In addition two section membermeetings were organised and working group“Protected areas and Health” met once in theUnited Kingdom. Furthermore the Sectionsnewsletter was published six times last year.


The main success for the Section in 2011 wasthe involvement in creating the “EuropeanCharter for Sustainable Tourism in Protectedareas: Guideline for implementing Part II of theCharter (working with tourism businesspartners) within the EUROPARC Nordic-Balticsection”. Another important outcome occurredduring the EUROPARC Conference 2011, whereone of our members, Thomas Hansson, waselected as EUROPARC Federation president andanother one, Rolands Auzins, was re-elected asEUROPARC Federation Council member. Thisshows that the awareness of the members

3 minutes walkfrom the middle

of Kristianstad(SE) this visitor

centre lieshidden in the

reeds. Picture:

Lena Malmström

The Nordic-Baltic Section is one of seven regional units which have been established tomake the work of the EUROPARC Federation more effective. It represents organisations from eight countries in the Nordic-Baltic Region. The sectionwas formally established in April 2003.

The main goal of the section is: to promote the exchange of information and expertiseand to encourage cooperation between the members, in order to improve themanagement of protected areas. The Section follows the key aims of the EUROPARC Federation and maintains active connections between its members and the Directorate of the Federation.

The section will have a new secretariat from 2012-2014 held by the Estonian Environmental Board.

31Section Reports

within the section about its work and theactivities of the Federation have increased andthis in turn has seen a growth in the number ofmembers. There are, however, still somechallenges: some of the members are facingbudget cuts or structural reorganisation. Thesection will support these members in any waypossible.

The year ahead

2012 will be a busy year for the Section’s newsecretariat in terms of getting to know the work of the Section and also the communication withother sections and the EUROPARC Federation. Thesection will organise at least two seminars and twomember meetings in 2012. Furthermore, regularnewsletters and the continuation of the workinggroup “Protected areas and Health” are definitepriorities.

Further information: www.europarc-nb.org

Contact: Nele Sõ[email protected]

Workshopparticipants ontheir way to dosome labour oflove in NuuksioNational Park (FI). Picture: Lena Malmström

Bird watching onthe Carl Linnaeus

path on theoutskirts of

KristianstadPicture:

Lena Malmström

http://www.europarc-nb.org


32

Key activities 2011

In 2011 many activities from the current PoW tookplace including:• A seminar about management of marine

protected areas was held in Vigo, with thesupport of the Xunta de Galicia

• The Section was able to organise an expertmeeting to work on protected areas and globalchange thanks to the “Fundación BBVA”

• The topic of quality management forconservation in the PoW saw the adoption ofthe Standard of Conservation. In addition,a document on good practice in preventivemanagement was developed and validated.A manual entitled "Standard guide for quality in

conservation management in protected areas"was elaborated and published. This publicationwas sponsored by the Biodiversity Foundation.

• In 2011 a total of 36 Spanish protected areaswere part of the European Charter forSustainable Tourism and 259 tourismcompanies were participating in the secondphase. The number of protected areasaccredited with the label “Q Standard for publicuse” increased to 28.

• In the framework of collaborative agreementswith Colombia and México, a representative ofthe section was able to participate at the WorldProtected Areas Leadership in Colombia.

• The seminar “Volunteering in protected areas”was organised as a contribution to theGRUNDTVIG project “Volunteer Management inEuropean Parks”. The section also celebratedthe first meeting of volunteer coordinators fromSpanish protected areas.


EUROPARC SpainThe Spanish Section was founded in 1993 and is championed by FUNGOBE (Fundacion F.G.Bernaldez for Natural Areas). There are currently 26 members, all of them publicadministrations. The Programme of Work for Protected Areas (PoW) 2009-2013,a contribution from the Spanish protected areas to the Convention on Biodiversity, hasformed the backbone of the Sections activities since 2008.

MonfragüeNational Park

(ES) joined theEuropean

Charter forSustainable

Tourism in 2011.Picture:

Javier Puertes

33

• A new year of the Master in protected areas andthree courses in quality conservationmanagement were completed.

• Finally, the Section co-operated with BBVAFoundation to organise the conference “Forestsand the challenge of global change” as part ofthe European Day of Parks 2012.


In 2011 the Spanish Section used the InternationalYear of Forests as a framework for disseminatinginformation about many of its current activities toa wider audience. In addition, several public andprivate foundations supported the Section’sactivities: Fundación BBVA, FundaciónBiodiversidad, Fundación de las Cajas de Ahorros,Obra Social de Caja Madrid, Red Eléctrica

EUROPARC Spain particularly enjoyed workingclosely with its members and the EUROPARCFederation throughout the year.

The year ahead

The main task for the Section in 2012 is theimplementation of several lines of work connectedto the PoW for Protected Areas. These include thedevelopment of Natura 2000 guidelines anda manual that protected areas can use to includetheir intangible values in their planning andmanagement. Furthermore, a new report onprotected areas in Spain will be published.

More information: www.redeuroparc.org

Contact: Marta Múgica de la [email protected]

Section Reports

Olga Baniandres opens the seminar aboutvolunteering in protected areas.

Picture: Javier Puertes

EUROPARCSpains Manual 9

http://www.redeuroparc.org



Key activities 2011

EUROPARC Consulting is registered inRegensburg (DE) and also has a UK operation.The Managing Director, Wilf Fenten, is supportedby Rachel Wieting, Anne Webster and an AdvisoryBoard of five which always includes theFederation President and its Director who providestrategic direction and guidance.

The philosophy and ethos of EUROPARCConsulting is the same as the Federation’s and itswork over the past 12 months has included:• Managing and processing several dozen

applications, re-evaluations and verificationvisits for the European Charter for SustainableTourism in Protected Areas.

• Organising and implementing a study visit forthe Lithuanian Baltic Environmental Forum toScotland’s Loch Lomond National Park andClyde-Muirshiel Regional Park (UK) to examinethe work of rangers.

• Developing a sustainable tourism strategy forthe Wadden Sea World Heritage Site inGermany, the Netherlands and Denmark.

• Creating a sustainable-tourism handbook forDutch client ECEAT.

• Producing a report on Public-Private-Partnerships for the PARKS & BENEFITSproject.

• Organising and carrying out a study visit bynational park officers from the Ukraine toSouthern France. Participants studiedenvironmental education the production andmarketing of local produce, sustainabletourism, etc.

• Workshop co-ordination for the EUROPARCConference 2011 in Bad Urach (DE).


During the first half of 2011 Consulting spent a lotof time and effort on project applications. Thesecond half of the year was marked by some greatnew contracts and even more new enquiries andtenders. This turn-around has been due to someexcellent team work between our UK office, theEUROPARC Consulting Board and the EUROPARCFederation team.

Our consultancy armEUROPARC Consulting

The Wadden Seasustainable

tourism projectis one

EUROPARCConsultingslargest everundertaken.

Picture: Henk Veurman

35EUROPARC Consulting

Despite the current financial restraints in thepublic sector all over Europe EUROPARCConsulting is set to return to an even morepositive position from 2011. The Board is currentlyreviewing its Business Plan and OperationalManual and developing the company’s medium-term aspirations.

There is no other consultancy firm which dealsexclusively with protected areas as its subjectmatter. EUROPARC Consulting should be thenatural choice for all protected areas and localauthorities dealing with protected areas. Thecompany is about connecting people with greatideas and creative expertise as well as withspecialist knowledge of protected areas.

The year ahead

2012 is shaping up to be a very busy year forConsulting. The company will: continue with itsexpert work on sustainable tourism in developinga strategy for the Wadden Sea World Heritage Site;carry out Charter verifications in twelve countries;and organise a number of study tours to protectedareas with targeted learning outcomes for a varietyof groups. Building on its previous success ofwork in the Danube Carpathian ecoregion thecompany are developing an exciting capacity-building and communications project in theWestern Balkans.

European protected areas award hundreds ofcontracts every year for advice and services;EUROPARC Consulting will gladly send in tendersfor new projects. Clients include individualprotected areas, local authorities, NGOs andgovernment agencies. The company offersa tailor-made and flexible service and useEUROPARC experts with commitment andprotected area knowledge.

More information: www.europarc-consulting.org

Contact: Wilf [email protected]

Practical,profitable,

protected –a starter guide to

developingsustainable

tourism inprotected areas

EUROPARC Consulting was created in 2001 to help individual protectedareas use the skills, knowledge and expertise of professionals from acrossthe EUROPARC network. The company provides advice, specialistexpertise, knowledge training and learning across all protected area work –and through these commercial activities provide support for the work of theEUROPARC Federation. Between 2008 and the end of 2011, EUROPARCConsulting has contributed a total of €85,000 to the EUROPARC Federation.

http://www.europarc-consulting.org



Summerpastures on the

Tanargue in newCharter area,

Monts d'ArdècheRegional Park

(FR). Picture: Monts

d'ArdècheRegional Park

Our membersEUROPARC membership in 2011

The EUROPARC Federation currently hasa membership of 422 members from 35 countries.The geographical spread reaches from NorthernFinland to the Azores and from Iceland to theUkraine. Together the members of theEUROPARC network are responsible for themanagement of several hundred protected areasacross the continent. This includes a substantialportion of Europe’s Natura 2000 sites andencompasses a wealth of expertise in the field ofnature protection and protected areamanagement.

In 2011 thirty-one new members joinedEUROPARC, giving them access to knowledgeand enabling them to share professionalexperience, to collaborate on technical projectsand to progress common aims. Five membersresigned and 39 had to be struck-off due to non-payment of membership fees for two years.Despite the current economic crisis in Europethe Federation’s relatively stable membershipbase is a great achievement. The Council,Directorate and Sections of the Federationremain grateful for the continued support shownby EUROPARC members. The Federationremains committed to serving their aspirationsfor international cooperation in natureconservation.

The membership is at the very core of EUROPARC’swork and members contribute to the organisation’smission to be the leading European organisation forprotected areas in order to represent the value andbenefits of Europe’s natural heritage. The Federationbrings together dedicated professionals, governmentagencies, decision-makers and communities.Together these individuals work to increase theeffectiveness in conserving and enhancing naturaland cultural heritage on land and sea for the well-being and benefit of current and future generations.

Participation of the membership in EUROPARCactivities throughout the year was excellent. Withover 330 attendees the Annual Conference was thelargest single networking event of the year. 21 protected areas successfully completed theirCharter evaluation or re-evaluation in 2011. Otherevents included a communications seminar atSiggen (DE), verifier training on the Island of Vilm(DE), a conference on sustainable tourism (SB), theTransParcNet meeting (CZ), the international JuniorRanger Camp (NL) as well as numerous workinggroups and section meetings. Members are alsoactive in a number of transnational projects and havecontributed regularly to EUROPARC’s publications.

More information: www.europarc.org/who-we-are/our-members

Contact: Regina Schöfer, [email protected]

http://www.europarc.org/who-we-are/our-members


37EUROPARC Membership

Number of EUROPARC members per country

EUROPARC member categories


Financial Report - changes

During 2011-12 the EUROPARC Federation undertook changes in its financialmanagement systems, in order to rationalise and simplify accountancy andadministrative procedure and to provide continuity of processes during period ofstaff change. Such changes invariably take some time to implement andunfortunately at the time of reporting these changes were not yet fully in place.The finance statements usually produced for the annual report, are the time ofpublication, not yet audited.

The normal financial statement will be forwardedto members as a supplement to this report. Thefully audited end of year statement for 2011 will beprovided for the General Assembly by theTreasurer in October 2012.

A word on membership fees

EUROPARC’s work is currently financed ina number of different ways. Membership fees areone of these and a very important income for theFederation. As a membership organisationEUROPARC relies on these fees to sustain itsnetwork and activities.

The income received by members in 2011 wasalmost 84% of the invoiced amount of €334,114.The Directorate and Council are acutely aware ofthe financial restraints being imposed onmembers at present and are therefore verygrateful for this remarkable achievement andshow of support. In further recognition of thefinancial constraints on public authorities, therehas been no increase in membership fees since2007! In addition, 2011 saw the introduction ofa lower fee rate of €200 to enable smallerprotected areas and supporting organisations tojoin or stay a part of the Federation.

39Financial Report

Income from membership fees fully coverscurrent staff costs and offices in Regensburg andBrussels. However, in order to fund all otheroverheads EUROPARC needs supplementaryincome in the form of projects, donations fromfoundations and EUROPARC Consulting to ensureit can operate an effective team to serve theinterests of its members.

Project money not only delivers new innovations,guidance and products as outputs of the projectthat benefit all members. Project income also can

cover some staff costs. When it is available, itfrees up membership monies to pay for theservices, publications, web and e-materialslobbying, meetings and representation the staffand council members undertake for members.

The Federation is of course always looking both todiversify and increase its income but remainsaware that efficiencies and shrinkage to availableresources is also necessary at times. Thishowever is the normal life of an NGO!

40

Contact us*

* Please note that these are contacts from 2011. More current contacts, including those of the new Council and President, can be found atwww.europarc.org.


The CouncilPresident: Treasurer: Internal Auditor:Mrs Erika Stanciu (RO) Mr Pio Forte (IT) Mr David Cameron (UK)[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Council members:Mr Rolands Auzins (LV) Mr Paulo Castro (PT) Mr Dominique Leveque (FR)[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Mrs Marian Jager-Wöltgens (NL) Mr Gabor Szilagyi (HU) Dr Valter Zago (IT)[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Mr Johannes Hager (DE) Dr. Eberhard Henne (DE)[email protected] [email protected]

EUROPARC SectionsEUROPARC Atlantic Isles: EUROPARC Czech Republic: EUROPARC France:Mr Richard Blackman Mr Handrij Härtel Miss Anne L’[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] www.europarc-ai.org www.europarc.cz

EUROPARC Germany Federparchi - EUROPARC Italy:Ms Vivian Kreft Ms Francesca [email protected] [email protected] www.europarc-deutschland.de www.europarc.it

EUROPARC Nordic-Baltic: EUROPARC SpainMiss Lena Malmström Mrs Marta [email protected] [email protected] www.europarc-nb.org www.europarc-es.org

EUROPARC ConsultingMr Wilf [email protected]

The EUROPARC DirectorateEUROPARC Headquarters: Brussels Office: Waffnergasse 6 Boulevard L. Schmidt 64 [email protected] Regensburg 1040 Bruxelles www.europarc.orgGermany BelgiumTel: 0049 941 59935980 Tel: 0032 2 7390315

Director: Communications Officer:Miss Carol Ritchie Miss Morwenna [email protected] [email protected]

Project Manager: Policy Officer: Miss Diane Gallrapp Mr Federico Minozzi [email protected] [email protected]

Executive Administrators: Intern:Mrs Regina Schöfer Miss Cornelia Ehlers Miss Alex [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
























http://www.europarc-ai.org

http://www.europarc.cz



http://www.europarc-deutschland.de

http://www.europarc.it



http://www.europarc-nb.org

http://www.europarc-es.org


http://www.europarc-consulting.org


Impressum:

Copyright: EUROPARC Federation 2012

Edited: EUROPARC Federation Directorate, [email protected]

Translations: Luis Luedicke (En-De), [email protected]; Julie Coftsatis (En-Fr), [email protected]

Graphic Design: Václav Hraba, [email protected]

Many thanks go to all those who contributed to this edition of the Annual Report. Particular thanks go to Richard Blackman, EUROPARC Atlantic Isles, for proofreading the English texts.

The production of this Annual Report has been supported financially in the framework of the followingprojects: Sustainable Tourism Destinations, funded by the German Federal Agency for Nature Protection

and the EU funding stream GRUNDVIG for the project Volunteer Management in European Parks.





www.europarc.org


europarc federation annual report · 2016-11-24 · 2 europarc federation annual report 2011 2011 a...

Documents