Training in co-management of Protected Areas in Portugal: planning for HPHPe
Group photo of Portuguese PA representatives in February
30 Park Managers engaged in a training session to include Healthy Parks Healthy People in their Action Plans.
HPHPe training event in Portugal
On the 21st of March, 30 Portuguese Park Managers engaged in a training course for technicians in Co-management of Protected Areas in Portugal – Introducing the HPHP Europe in the PA Action Plan.
The attending park technicians were from both Municipalities and the ICNF (Portuguese Agency for Nature Conservation and Forests) and are actively involved in promoting and communicating the value of Protected Areas.
Led by Carles Castell, a member of the EUROPARC HPHPe Commission, this introduction provided valuable insights and showcased successful examples from across Europe. The aim was to inspire and empower participants to play an active role in developing initiatives aligned with the HPHPe methods and principles.
The session is included in a long-term capacity-building programme, designed to build the skills of the Protected Areas technicians.
This marks a significant milestone as Portugal embraces the Healthy Parks Healthy People Europe initiative for the first time.
By fostering a deeper connection between people and parks, with an emphasis on restoration and health, we strive to create happier and healthier communities.
This event serves as the initial step towards implementing initiatives that promote well-being within Portuguese parks, setting the stage for a brighter, healthier future.
Healthy Parks Healthy People Europe Programme is a long-standing initiative of EUROPARC Federation.
The HPHPe toolkit “Health and Well-Being Benefits from Parks and Protected Areas” provides practical advice to set up policy and activities in your Park; brings you the latest evidence, reports and other useful resources; and shares inspiring examples from across the EUROPARC network. A must-read for all Protected area staff (including planners, site managers, rangers, and wardens) but also to governmental bodies aiming to develop national and regional policy to leverage health benefits from natural areas.
If you wish to get inspiration to how get active you can take a look at our:
If you are already active and wish to share your experience with the network you are welcome to submit a case study
Short and sweet | ENA Mini-Courses have come to an end!
With a concluding Online meeting which took place on the 15th of March, ENA Mini-Course Participants have officially come to an end of their ENA journey, which started on the 31st of January.
Throughout the five Mini-Courses they have had a chance to focus on competence-based applied learning for marine and forest ecosystems, core communication skills, inclusive stakeholder engagement and governance practices, policy frameworks and more.
This has been a great opportunity for them to connect with their peers and exchange ideas, as well as learning connected to the management challenges and opportunities they face in their everyday work.
The Mini- Courses were incredibly interesting, providing additional knowledge and new visions for the future, said one participant.
The Mini-Courses have been delivered by the ENA Trainee Trainers, selected from the 1st intake of the ENA participants, with the support of an expert team of ‘Trainee-Buddies’. We are super proud and grateful for their excellent work in spreading their experiences and skills acquired during their time in the Academy.
We hope that the new networking connections made within the European Nature Academy will continue for a long time and result in some exciting collaborations.
The ENA team wishes all of our participants lots of success in their future endeavours.
The European Nature Academy seeks to empower Nature Professionals by providing them with the necessary skills, knowledge and attitudes to tackle the various management challenges they encounter in their work.
Learn more about the LIFE ENABLE project here!
If you want to evaluate your competencies, make sure to utilise the Individual and Group Training Needs Analysis Tools that were created as part of the project.
- Individual competence assessment: https://propark.ro/individualtna/
- Group competence assessment: https://propark.ro/natura2000groupassessments/
Apply now for EUROPARC’s Star Awards 2024!
Welcome to the EUROPARC Sustainable Tourism Partners’ Award.
Tourism is one of the main economic drivers of Europe’s rural areas. EUROPARC has long recognised the need to ensure we have a thriving, living, working landscapes that support nature and people. Tourism, therefore, has to be developed and managed along with sustainable principles, if we are to ensure a positive future. Parks and Protected Areas are at the core of the natural and cultural assets of an area and are often the main reason for visiting.
However to be a Sustainable Destination, depends on businesses, community, and municipalities all working to that common purpose.
In these STAR Awards, EUROPARC seeks to celebrate, champion and acknowledge the effort and investments made by tourism businesses to be more sustainable and help care and protect their natural and cultural heritage.
To be less impactful on the environment in which the businesses reside, to work alongside the park, and to play a supporting role in the community are all the excellent actions of “ECST Partners”.
EUROPARC, therefore, invites all current Charter Partners and Tour Operators to apply for the awards in order to highlight the sustainable actions being done which are Good for Nature, Good for People and Good for Business.
>>> Download the Guidelines for Candidates <<<<
Guidelines for candidates – ENGLISH
Instrucciones para candidados – SPANISH
Linee guida per i candidati – ITALIAN
Directives destinées aux candidats – FRENCH
Eligibility
The Star Awards is open to all Sustainable Business Partners or Tour Operators who have a current validated partnership (under ECST Part 2 or ECST Part 3) with a park or protected area, itself currently awarded by EUROPARC. If you are unsure of your eligibility please contact your Park for further information.
Categories
We really want to learn of your experiences and share your stories, so we have endeavoured to ask questions in different areas in which you may contribute to the Sustainable Destination. We have tried to make the questions as intuitive as possible to answer. There are 4 categories you can choose from:
The Application Process
We recommend that you only apply to one category. There are already transversal criteria that all categories must meet. It is better that you select the category in which you feel strongest and that you document it well.
Using the online form in either French, Italian, Spanish or English. The deadline for entries is 30th June.
APPLY in ENGLISH (French, Spanish and Italian Versions are also available)
These will be assessed by an international jury together with EUROPARC representatives. The best from each category will be adjudicated by an international jury who will select the overall winner.
These will be announced at the ECST Award Ceremony 2024. Winners will be invited to attend the award ceremony at the European Parliament in Brussels, in late November/early December 2024 (Date to be confirmed).
The overall winner will receive, along with a representative from the Protected Area with which they are a partner, a free place at the EUROPARC Conference 2025 or at the ECST network meeting 2026.
Group of Specialists on European Diploma for Protected Areas annual meeting
What is the European Diploma for Protected Areas
The European Diploma for Protected Areas is a prestigious international award granted since 1965 by the Committee of Ministers (Foreign Ministers of each Member State) of the Council of Europe. It recognises natural and semi-natural areas and landscapes of exceptional European importance for the preservation of biological, geological and landscape diversity, which are managed in an exemplary way.
About the meetings and the role of EUROPARC Federation
The Group of Specialists on the European Diploma for Protected Areas annual meeting took place from 20 to 21 February 2024 in Strasbourg and was attended by EUROPARC Federation’s Executive Director.
Our Executive Director Carol Ritchie is a member of the Group of Specialists on the European Diploma for Protected Areas, the body that advises the Committee of Ministers, whether an area in question is of exceptional European interest.
At the meeting, the Group discussed the consequences of the cessation of the membership of the Russian Federation to the Council of Europe and of the freeze of the technical cooperation with Belarus.
There was also the opportunity to reflect how the monitoring of the European Diploma can contribute to the achievement of the Strategic Plan of the Bern Convention and to examine the findings of on-the-spot appraisal visits to seven Protected Areas. Lastly, discussion revolved on the several sites requiring particular attention, and planning the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the European Diploma in 2025.
It was great to see EUROPARC members both in the Group of Specialists and amongst the 66 Diploma sites across Europe (after the exclusion of Russian and Belarusian sites) .
It was especially heartening to see and hear the presentation from Sierra Nevada National Park, Spain, as it made its new application for the Diploma. It is an award that not only looks at the assets of a site but at how they are managed and has high political significance and visibility.
Looking forward to the 60th anniversary
EUROPARC would encourage members across Europe to consider making such an application, especially as the Diploma reaches its 60th anniversary next year. It would be an ideal time to shine a spotlight on the great work being done by Protected Areas to protect our nature in all it is glorious diversity.