EUROPARC participates in the World Protected Areas Leaders Forum
On 26-30 June, the World Protected Areas Leaders Forum (WPALF), initiated by IUCN, took place in the Krkonoše National Park and the Jizera Mountains Protected Landscape Area. EUROPARC Federation was represented by its President Michael Hošek.
About the Forum
Around 20 Protected Area leaders and specialists came together in the Krkonoše National Park and the Jizera Mountains Protected Landscape Area. The purpose of the meeting is not only to enable leaders in Protected Areas management to discuss and share experiences, but above all to identify the problems and challenges Protected Area managers are facing, or are likely to face. Furthermore, it offers a chance to prepare our community to respond appropriately to them.
Our protected spaces are important drivers of sustainable development
It’s time to champion our Protected Areas
Protected Areas are one of the most successful conservation tools, and their benefits can be identified on many levels. This is exactly EUROPARC’s role: to identify and promote Protected Areas as a tool that, far from just serving nature conservation, is already serving sustainable use in general.
Protected Areas support greater involvement of local communities and local governments, also in partnership with the private sector. However, to make the most of our Protected Areas, continuous investment is needed. The wealth of knowledge the global Protected Area community holds is immense. Adapting current policies to make use of this wealth is pertinent if we want the Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in December 2022, to be a success.
As a result of the meeting, Protected Area managers signed a declaration underlining this sentiment. You can read it here:
Michael Hošek and Madhu Rao at the World Protected Areas Leaders Forum 2023.
WPALF Krkonoše – Jizera Declaration
Furthermore, EUROPARC president Michael Hošek attended a separate meeting with Dr. Madhu Rao, the Global Chair of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA). They discussed further close cooperation between EUROPARC and the IUCN WCPA.