Managing Natural Assets and Protected Areas as Sustainable Regional Development Opportunities - NATREG
The NATREG Project is addressing the challenge that the potentials of the protected areas as an important instrument of biodiversity conservation and a great potential for social and economic development are still largely unrecognized. Furthermore, the connection between nature conservation and development of protected areas is too weak. Therefore, the project’s main aim is to acknowledge and promote the potentials of natural assets and protected areas as drivers of sustainable regional development, and to increase the perception of preserved nature as a valuable asset.
The Project is connecting six protected areas in the Adria-Alpe-Pannonia territory, namely in Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia. The project’s main objective is to establish a transnational and multisectoral cooperation network and to develop the Joint Strategy for Integrated Management of Protected Areas. Numerous trainings and knowledge transfer events will be organized. Furthermore, by using the participatory approach, all relevant stakeholders from various sectors such as regional development, spatial planning, nature protection, civil society, etc. will be involved in the development of integrated management plans for protected areas. In addition, the Strategy for Development of Ecological Corridors will be prepared before the conclusion of the Project, which is due on July 2011.
Work packages of the project are:
WP 1 – Transnational Project Management and Coordination
WP 2 – Communication and Dissemination
WP 3 – Joint Strategy for Integrated Management
WP 4 – Training and Knowledge Management
WP 5 – Development of Integrated Management Plans
