NatuRegio
Nature Conservation and Regional Development in South-East-Europe
Romania and Bulgaria joined the European Union as new member states in 2007. The rich asset of the natural areas in the two countries has considerably increased species and habitat diversity in the European Union. Nonetheless, both countries are subject to extensive demands when it comes to implementing and transferring the Common Legal Framework of the European Union in the field of nature conservation into the existing national systems. Specific efforts and programs are needed to support the accession process and to protect those unique natural and cultural landscapes.
Objective
The project’s main objective is to support Romania and Bulgaria in developing expertise for the management of natural resources through training and capacity building activities.
Approach
The project was successfully run from 2006 until April 2010 by the NNA (Alfred Toepfer Academy for Nature Protection), Lüneburg University, Euronatur (European Natural Heritage Fund) and the EUROPARC Federation. Funding has been provided by the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU) and the Alfred Toepfer Foundation F.V.S.
For the last four years 40 young professionals from Romanian and Bulgarian protected areas, nature conservation agencies and NGOs have had the opportunity to take part in a one-year advanced vocational training programme, that was designed to strengthen their capacities to more effectively and efficiently manage natural resources and protected areas. The programme incorporated seminars and placements in Germany as well as technical meetings in RO and BULG. A key factor of the training programme, was the development of an individual project, financially supported by the foundations, which every trainee implemented in his/her home region.
In addition, an international network was established, that will ensure that the trainees and the partners in Germany stay in contact. Since all trainees are highly qualified and cover a wide range of specialist topics in the field of nature conservation and regional development both in state and non-governmental organisations and institutions, this network is very valuable and has a lot of potential for future activities. The network continues to be co-ordinated after the official end of the project by the NNA.
More can be read about the current status of the project by clicking on the tab 'current status' opposite.
Contact: Diana Gallrapp, d.gallrapp@europarc.org or visit the project website
This activity is supported by:
