Our projects

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About: The project “Integrating nature protection and sustainable tourism development into the Carpathian region via science-policy-practice interface” has been elaborated by the Carpathian Convention Secretariat in collaboration with the Science for the Carpathians (S4C) network and the WWF Central and Eastern Europe and co-funded by the Advisory Assistance Programme (AAP) provided by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety of Germany.

The project supported integrating the results from the previous Carpathian Convention developments on sustainable tourism and biodiversity protection into a comprehensive follow-up in the Carpathians, via strengthening the science-policy-practice interface and building synergies among the researchers and practitioners. Specifically, the project supported the following activities:

- Organization of the 5th Forum Carpaticum, participation of young scientists, social and interdisciplinary scientists and practitioners in the Forum (see www.fc2018.hu).

- Strengthening synergies between the Carpathian partners and other science-policy-practice networks and initiatives in the field of sustainable tourism and biodiversity conservation, such as via the organization of a Carpathian session and supporting participation of Carpathian scientists and practitioners at the First World Agritourism Congress, held in Bolzano in November 2018

- Organization of the first Carpathian ESD Seminar, held in Hungary on 16-18 April 2019, participation of the S4C experts in the Seminar and elaboration of the recommendation for the Carpathian Convention

- Holding a workshop on exploring new methods to integrate and co-create knowledge between the S4C and the Carpathian Convention WG on Biodiversity (30-31 May 2019, Ostrava, Czech Republic), in order to enhance the implementation of the Carpathian Convention.

The final report of the project can be downloaded here

About: Mountain regions in the Alps and the Carpathians as well as the Danube floodplain represent some of the most important (semi) natural areas in Central and South-East Europe. Economic development is increasing constantly in this area, causing growing impact of habitat fragmentation and making genetic exchange between wildlife populations difficult.

The richness in bio-geographic regions qualifies Central and South-East Europe as model for corridor functionality and the establishment of Trans-European Network for Green Infrastructure (TEN-G). Facing the leading role of Protected Areas to foster habitat connectivity, in 2016, the Protected Area
Networks (DANUBEPARKS, ALPARC, CNPA) formed the "ADC Net”. Their MoC - elaborated under the patronage of EUSDR PAC6 and EUSALP AG7, signed under the Alpine Convention - aims for the realization of common actions towards ecological networks in and among their respective regions, but still waiting for consequent implementation.

"Three Networks, two macro-regions, one vision" is now to:
- strengthen this strategic cooperation
- anchor ADC Net better on policy level
- identify joint best-practice actions to improve ecological connectivity
- elaborate an Interreg-project proposal to better connect the Alps and the Carpathians through the Danube
- qualify the Networks for future leading roles in the main project
- deliver good practice for cooperation among the EU-macro regions: on site, on operational and on policy level

Two Protected Areas at the linkage of Danube and Alps, respectively, Danube and Carpathians, are responsible for the operational implementation.
The project set-up and implementation involve both EUSDR PAC6 and EUSALP AG7.

Activities relevant for the WG Biodiversity:

• Harmonization of the approach of ALPARC, CNPA, DANUBEPARKS
• development of transnational tools on eco-connectivity (e.g. Jecami)
• definition of pilot regions at the interface of the tree bio-regions: tributary rivers could serve as model for Green Infrastructure to connect the Alps and the Carpathians with the Danube (most larger tributary rivers are cross-border riverine corridors, a transnational management approach should be developed)
• strengthen Protected Areas and Natura 2000 as core sites within trans-European eco-corridors: contribution to ongoing political discussions to establish new Protected Areas, often located at Alpine/Carpathian tributary rivers (e.g. 3rd National Park in Bavaria including Isar mouth; Podunajsko National Park (SVK) at the Danube and cross-border river Morava; ROM/UK/MD: trilateral biosphere reserve at the Prut, coop MDD)
• Policy work: boost TEN-G, jointly by the PA Networks, PAC6, AG7, EU commission working group on TEN-G

Ecological connectivity, the web of life for people and nature

About: The project is being implemented in 200 communes within the geographical scope of application of the Carpathian Convention in Poland, with focus on communes harbouring habitat Natura 2000 sites. Target audiences and key partners include local self-governments, regional nature conservation authorities, landscape parks, local communities and other local stakeholders (local action groups).

Project objectives:

• initiating and supporting cooperation of local stakeholders towards the maintenance, restoration and enhancement of green infrastructure;
• disseminating knowledge on the role and importance of green infrastructure and ecological connectivity for biodiversity conservation, access to ecosystem services, and sustainable local development;
• promoting the application of spatial data resources and geoinformation tools in spatial management of areas of high natural values;
• dissemination of good practices of participatory spatial management of valuable natural areas among the countries of the Carpathian region.

Project activities and outputs include:

• training workshops on sustainable spatial planning and management of green infrastructure;
• inventory and mapping of local green infrastructure using a dedicated mobile application and geo-portal;
• elaboration and implementation of local case studies on green infrastructure deployment;
• building public awareness: a series of local information campaigns on green infrastructure and its role in sustainable local development;
• e-learning course and printed manual on green infrastructure in nature-sensitive areas in the Carpathians;
• joint meeting of three Working Groups of the Carpathian Convention (WG Biodiversity, WG Spatial Development, and WG Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development).

Project Secretariat: UNEP/GRID-Warsaw Centre, 8 Sobieszyńska Street, 00-764 Warsaw, Poland; phone: (+48) 22 840 6664; e-mail: zielonainfrastruktura@karpatylacza.pl

Partnership: the project is implemented in cooperation with the Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention.

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About: The project main aim is to empower local entrepreneurs to improve their handicraft workshops as tourism services and to increase the quality and the visibility of other rural tourism initiatives. This will be done through workshops, which will raise the knowledge of participants on tourism trends, social media and the usage of other marketing tools. These professional training courses and a manual and a final project booklet will help locals to promote themselves.

The project is funded by International Visegrad Fund, supported and co-financed by the UN Environment Vienna Office Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention (SCC).

Partnership: AUSTRIA - UN Environment Vienna – Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention; HUNGARY - Tisza menti Mezőség Turizmusáért Egyeslület – Association for Tourism in the Tisza Plain; POLAND - Piotr Wyderka Pracownia Miodosytnia; SLOVAKIA - Art and Craft of Stiavnica Civil Association -Občianske Združenie Umenie a remeslá Štiavnice; CZECH REPUBLIC - Tourist Authority South Moravia – Centrála cestovního ruchu­Jižní Morava, z.s.p.o; The Ecologic Institute for Sustainable Development Foundation; Üvegmanufaktúra Kft.

About: BIOREGIO Carpathians is aimed at enhancing the integrated management, sustainable use and development of the Carpathians protected areas and natural assets (including Natura 2000 sites) in a transnational context and thereby increase the attractiveness of the region, to improve its connectivity and continuity.

Partnership: AUSTRIA -UNEP Vienna – Interim Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention; WWF DCP (Danube Carpathians Programme); CZECH REPUBLIC - Agency for Nature Conservation and Landscape Protection; Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic; HUNGARY - Duna-Ipoly National Park Directorate; Szent István University; Ministry of Rural Development; ITALY - EuropeanAcademy Bolzano/Bozen, Institute for Regional Development and Location Management; Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea; POLAND - PolishAcademy ofSciences,Institute ofNature Conservation; Ministry of the Environment, Department of Nature Protection; ROMANIA - NFA (National Forest Administration) ROMSILVA Maramures Mountains Nature Park Administration; Iron Gates Natural Park Administration; Regional Environmental Protection Agency Sibiu; Ministry of Environment andForest; SLOVAK REPUBLIC - State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic; National Forest Centre; Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Regional Development of the Slovak Republic; SERBIA - Public Enterprise Djerdap National Park; Ministry of the Environment and Spatial Planning; UKRAINE - The State Agency for Protected Areas; Ministry of Environmental Protection of Ukraine.

About: The CARPIVIA project aims to assess the vulnerability to climate change of the main ecosystems and ecosystem based production systems in combinaison with other anthropogenic pressures in the Carpathian region. Based on this vulnerability assessment, it will produce an inventory of climate change impacts and potential and already implemented ecosystem-based adaptation measures.

Partnership: ECNC-European Centre for Nature Conservation; ECORYS;  Grontmij and WWF-Danube Carpathian Program. Close cooperation is sought with the Framework Convention on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathians (Carpathian Convention).

About: Big Foot aims to establish intergenerational learning and dialogue in the mountain areas, enabling, transmitting and valuating the skills and knowledge of the older generation of locals, combining traditional knowledge with modern communication tools and expertise in order to enable creative and productive joint solutions for local sustainable development.

Partnership:

About: ALPSTAR aims to encourage preparation and implementation of cross-sectoral strategies and action plans and of proven good practice measures toward carbon neutrality on regional and local level in the Alpine region.

Partnership: AUSTRIA - Land Vorarlberg (VORARLBERG); UNEP Vienna -  Interim Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention; FRANCE - CIPRA France; Rhônalpénergie-Environnement (RAEE); GERMANY - Verein Alpenstadt des Jahres e.V. (ALPINE TOWNS); Ökomodell Achental e.V.(ÖKOMODELL); ITALY - Accademia Europea Bolzano (EURAC); SLOVENIA - Posoški Razvojni Center (PRC); LIECHTENSTEIN - Amt für Wald, Natur und Landschaft (AWNL); SWITZERLAND - Amt für Raumentwicklung und Geoinformation des Kantons ST. GALLEN.

About: C3-Alps will synthesize, transfer and implement in policy and practice results of previous Alpine Space climate change adaptation projects.

Partnership: AUSTRIA - Umweltbundesamt GmbH; Amt der NÖ Landesregierung; Amt der Kärntner Landesregierung; Z_GIS Zentrum für Geoinformatik; UNEP Regional Office for Europe - Interim Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention; FRANCE - Université de Savoie; GERMANY - Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Umwelt und Gesundheit (StMUG); Handwerkskammer für München und Oberbayern; Forstliche Versuchs- und Forschungsanstalt Baden-Württemberg; ITALY - Regione Veneto, Directorate for Forests and Parks; Agenzia Regionale per la Protezione Ambientale (ARPA) Piemonte; Accademia Europea di Bolzano (EURAC); Autonome Provinz Bozen; ARPA Veneto; Centro Euro-Mediterraneo per i Cambiamenti Climatici S.c.a r.l. (CMCC); SLOVENIA - Urbanistični inštitut Republike Slovenije (UIRS); LIECHTENSTEIN - Fürstentum Liechtenstein, Amt f. Wald, Natur & Landschaft; SWITZERLAND - Bundesamt für Umwelt (BAFU); Eidg. Forschungsanstalt für Wald.

About: Access2Mountains aims to achieve durable and environmentally friendly tourism, as well as to ensure accessibility and connection to, between and in sensitive mountain regions of the Alps and the Carpathians, tourism representing a major challenge for today's rural and urban environments.  With the long-term perspective of increasing sustainable tourist mobility, railway and multimodal connections will be improved and attractive offers created via different actions.

Partnership: AUSTRIA -Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology; National Park Gesäuse; National Park Steirische Eisenwurzen; Mostviertel-Tourism Ltd.; Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Convention; Austrian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management; Lower Austrian Transport Organization Association; Central Alliance Austria; Tourist board Alpine Region Gesäuse National Park; BELGIUM - European Federation of Museum and Tourist Railways (FEDECRAILIVZW); HUNGARY - NORDA Regional Development Agency of NorthHungary Nonprofit Ltd;ITALY - University of Camerino; European Academy Bozen/Bolzano – Institute for Regional Development and Location Management; Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea; POLAND - Rzeszow Regional Development Agency; ROMANIA - Country Center for Tourism Information MARAMURESINFOTURISM; SLOVAK REPUBLIC - Agency for the support of Regional Development Kosice; SLOVENIA - Ministry of Transport; MONTENEGRO - Office for Sustainable Development, Montenegro; SERBIA - Timok Club; Regional Champber of Commerce Zajecar; Serbian Chamber of Commerce, Department for Tourism; UKRAINE - Carpathian Foundation Ukraine.

About: The aim of the Alpine-Carpathian Corridor project is to safeguard the ecological connectivity between the Alps and the Carpathians, within the Centrope region. The project shall strengthen conservation management for the protected areas along the Alpine Carpathian Corridor and neighbouring habitats. The project also wants to trigger a sustainable development which considers the requirements of both man and wildlife.

Partnership: AUSTRIA - UNEP Vienna - ISCC, Asfinag, University of Applied Sciences BOKU, Nationalpark Donau-Auen, WWF Austria, Weinviertel Management; SLOVAK REPUBLIC - NDS a.s., Slovenská technická univerzita, Štátna ochrana prírody SR - Správa CHKO Záhorie; CZECH REPUBLIC - DAPHNE Institute of Applied Ecology.

About: ClimAlp Tour is a science-based approach to tackle the impacts of climate change on Alpine winter tourism (closely related to climate variations, especially snow precipitations). It aims to make Alpine centers an interesting destination in all seasons, and to provide adaptation strategies usable by civil services.

Partnership: AUSTRIA - Universität Innsbruck (UIBK); United Nations Environment Programme in Vienna; FRANCE - Institut de la Montagne - Université de Savoie; GERMANY - Alpenforschungsinstitut GmbH (AFI); Hochschule München, Fakultät für Tourismus; ITALY - Ministero dell'Ambiente e della Tutela del Territorio e del Mare (MATTM); EURAC Accademia Europea di Bolzano (EURAC); Unione Nazionale Comuni Comunità Enti Montani Piemonte (UNCEM); Istituto per l'Ecologia e l'Economia Applicate alle Aree Alpine (IREALP); Regione Autonoma Valle d'Aosta, Assessorato Territorio Ambiente e Opere pubbliche, Direzione Ambiente (RAVA Env); Regione Autonoma valle d'Aosta, Direzione Turismo (RAVA Tour); World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF); SLOVENIA - Znanstvenoraziskovalni center Slovenske Akademije znanosti in umetnosti, Geografski inštitut Antona Melika; SWITZERLAND - Hochschule für Technik Rapperswil, Forschungstelle für Freizeit, Tourismus und Landschaft, Institut für Landschaft und Freiraum; Haute école spécialisée de Suisse occidentale Valais, Institut Economie & Tourisme; Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft HTW Chur, Institut für Tourismus- und Freizeitforschung.

About: Climate change will affect spatial development, land use, socio-economic activities and life-sustaining ecosystem services, in the Alpine Space more severely than in other European regions, and severe weather extremes are expected to cause a variety of adverse climate change impacts, but may also present new opportunities. Thus, CLISP aims to contribute to climate change adaptation by providing climate-proof spatial planning solutions.

Partnership: AUSTRIA - Amt der Salzburger Landesregierung, Abteilung Raumplanung; Amt der Steiermärkischen Landesregierung, Abteilung 16 - Landes- und Gemeindeentwicklung; Amt der Oberösterreichischen Landesregierung, Abteilung Raumordnung; GERMANY – Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Wirtschaft, Infrastruktur, Verkehr und Technologie, Abteilung Landesentwicklung; United Nations Environment Programme, Interim Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention; ITALY - Ministero dell'Ambiente e della Tutela del Territorio e del Mare; Accademia Europea di Bolzano; Provincia di Alessandria; SLOVENIA - Urbanistični inštitut Republike Slovenije; SWITZERLAND - Bundesamt für Raumentwicklung, Strategiegruppe Politik des Ländlichen Raumes; Graubünden, Amt für Raumentwicklung; LIECHTENSTEIN - Fürstentum Liechtenstein, Ressort Umwelt, Raum, Land- und Waldwirtschaft.

About: Historically, mountain regions in remote border areas are marginalised. However, experiences demonstrate theat they also have a potential for development if the rich natural and cultural heritage is used appropriately and preserved for the future. The central objective of the project is to integrate European spatial development policies and management of the fragile mountain ecosystems of the Carpathians in a transnational context, while cooperating with local and regional stakeholders, and analysing typical constraints of mountainous regions in the context of economic transition and European integration. It will deliver strategies and best practices for protection and sustainable development of the Carpathians while safeguarding its natural and cultural heritage.

Partnership: POLAND - RTI Polska; Podkarpackie Voivodeship; UNEP/GRID-Warsaw; Institute of Urban Development; Institute of Spatial and Cadastral Systems Ltd.; HUNGARY - Academy of Sciences - Centre for Regional Studies; CEEWEB/OETE; SLOVAK REPUBLIC - REC Slovakia; Academia Istropolitana; ITALY - Retecamere; EURAC; GREECE - Prefectural Authority of Drama-Kavala-Xanthi; AUSTRIA - Austrian Institute of East and Southeast European Studies; WWF DCP; CZECH REPUBLIC - Palacky University Olomouc; GERMANY - ISF Munchen; ROMANIA - INCD Urbanproiect Bucharest; UKRAINE - International Charitable Foundation “Heifer Project International”.