Our Working Groups

The EUROPARC Federation brings together experts from our membership and around Europe to focus on issues important to protected areas. These working groups consider policy issues, bring together best practice, develop new methodologies and look to future agenda and development. They are convened as appropriate to consider relevant topics. They meet as required and have been an excellent breeding ground for new ideas and innovative solutions.

Each working group is mandated to examine subjects of relevance to protected areas in Europe and deliver activities and output that would benefit the wider membership. These groups are a strong “working arm” of the Federation, where issues of importance to the protected areas of Europe are examined and developed, BY protected areas FOR protected areas, with high membership participation and involvement.

A working group workshop in Siggen (DE) in July 2010 helped formulate draft work plans for those groups attending. EUROPARC Council approved most of these work plans (available on the EUROPARC website) and the work has been incorporated into the Federation. Working groups that have been approved so far by the EUROPARC Council are: Health and Protected Areas, Sustainable Tourism, Transboundary and Wilderness and The Value of Protected Areas.

You will find more information about the working group guidelines in the document and news from the groups below.