Loving it to death - interreg-central.eu · EU agricultural output is directly attributed to...
Transcript of Loving it to death - interreg-central.eu · EU agricultural output is directly attributed to...
Nature under pressure
„Loving it to death”
CEETO Conference on Protected Areas & Sustainable Tourism22 to 24 October 2018, Opatija, Croatia
Igor Kreitmeyer, Assistant Minister, Ministry of Environment and Energy
BIODIVERSITY
FRESH WATER AND CLEAN
AIR
POLLINATION
FOOD AND REMEDIES
SPIRITUAL HEALTH
RECREATION AND TOURISM
Nature's benefits to people
ECOSYSTEM
SERVICES
NUTRIENT CYCLING
PROTECTION FROM NATURAL DISASTERS
PEST AND DISEASE MANAGEMENT
EROSION PREVENTIONCARBON SEQUESTRATION
…
an estimated EUR 15 billion of annual EU agricultural output is directly attributed to pollinators
Biodiversity under pressure
Only 12 years to go from 6-7 billion people
6th billon 1990
1st billion 1880
Loss of speciesand habitats
Degradation of ecosystems and their services
Dem
an
d f
or n
atu
ral
reso
urces
(land,
food,
wate
r…)
Hu
man
po
pu
lati
on
gro
wth
Clim
ate
ch
an
ge
Are we ready for transformational change?
changes in our behavior
and
decision-making at all
levels
in the use andmanagementof biodiversity
and ecosystems
Political engagement
Businesses
Scientific knowledge & education
Civil society organisation
Public participation
Intersectoralcooperation
agriculture
transport
energy
tourism
Transformational change at every level
Croatia – Natura 2000 and PA´s
• 408 Protected Areas• 8 national parks• 11 nature parks
Natura 2000 = 37% land, 15% sea2nd largest in the EU
Institutional framework
Ministry of Environment and Energy
Croatian Agency for Environment and Nature
State level public institutions
Regional(and local) level
public institutionsCounty authorities
Where were we 10 years ago?
In 2010 analysis rated low:
A) Insufficient visitor infrastructure
B) Tourism impact monitoring in PA’s
C) Stakeholder’s involvement
D) Knowledge of tourism management
E) Promotional / marketing activities
F) Inadequate visual identity
G) Inadequate funding (decreasing state budget funding)(reference: NIP and PARCS projects 2011-2017 – MEE)
Where are we going?
Sustainable tourism in PA
EU policy, Natura 2000
CBD, SDG
Paris Agreement on Climate
Change
Paradigm shift
*CBD - Convention on Biological Diversity; *SDG - Sustainable Development Goals
Types of tourism in PA’s
VISITORS
• Middle age, educated, travellingwith family and friends
• Want to experience nature,spend time with family, dorecreation activities
• mostly half-day visitors
TOURISM
Sports/Recreation – cycling, trekking etc.Green; Educational; Rural /EthnoCultural; Nautical; Congress (smaller scale)
Present tourism numbers
• Croatia 2017 - 17,4 million tourists
• July/August - 8,5 million tourists
> 4 million visitors in 19 national and nature parks → ¼ of all
visitors actually visit some of 19 national and nature parks!
„Tourism exploitation" varies – most of the parks have not yet reached their potential BUT…
> 3 million visitors in NP “Plitvice lakes” and NP “Krka”!
Tourism numbers increase
2.186.8102.298.789
2.532.591 2.495.620
2.876.456
3.134.683
3.729.115
304.657 293.602 303.475 301.834 299.158 350.976 365.159
0
500.000
1.000.000
1.500.000
2.000.000
2.500.000
3.000.000
3.500.000
4.000.000
2011. 2012. 2013. 2014. 2015. 2016. 2017.
Tota
l vis
ito
r n
um
ber
Godina
Comparison of total visitor number in National and Nature Parks
2011. - 2017.
Broj posjetitelja NP Broj posjetitelja PP
Linear (Broj posjetitelja NP) Linear (Broj posjetitelja PP)
• 96,6% foreign visitors in National Parks
• 80 % domestic visitors in NatureParks
NP Krka example
0
50.000
100.000
150.000
200.000
250.000
300.000
350.000
400.000
January February March April May June July August Sptember October
65% 37% 53%
7%
33%
5%
-1%
-3%
6%
14%
NUMBER OF VISITORS in NP KRKA2017 - October 2018
2017 year
2018 year
Making Nature more visible and accessible
• Standardization and networking of all 19 PA’s
• Tourist signalization of Parks on motorways
brand „Parks of Croatia”
webportal/web shop„Parks of Croatia”
Visitor infrastructure projects
NP Kopački rit (Castle Tikveš; Sakadaš Lake)
NP Lastovo archipelago Visitor centre „Vejo more”
NP Krka „Centar Lozovac”
NP Krka Puljane
Monitoring of tourism impact in PAs
Visitor Management Plans under development (condition for EU infrastructure projects)
• Training „Visitor management planning in PA's –LAC methodological framework”
• LAC metodology - defining indicators for biophysical and social impacts of visitor use
• Setting standards –deciding what levels of impact are acceptable
• Relevant stakeholders included
Sustainability in PAs
Involvement of stakeholders in PA
management
-cooperation councils or similar mechanisms
(Stakeholder Forums; Charter for sustainable
tourism; Plan for sustainable tourism)
- enable entities that are neither owners nor rights holders to assume care
for protected areas
Nature and people together
Nature for People opportunity to put ecological agriculture and farms at the centre of sustainable tourism
development
People for Nature
Abandonment of agricultural areas and activities →
disappearance of meadows and orchards (overgrowth),
changes in landscapeExtensive agriculture
(agri-environment measures) → variety of landscapes,
wealth of species
Need for continuous
education of:
PA practitioners, authorities (national,
regional, local), Stakeholders, service
providers, local community
Pressures and sustainability
„Don’t wait in line … buy online”
Visitor education and interpretation
-Educational programs
-Interpretative/guided walks
-Manifestations (EU Bat Night, Earth Day, Week of Parks, etc.)
Continuous Visitor structure and attitudes research neededIncrease PA’s capacity to respond to emerging trends adaptively
How to know if tourism is sustainable?
• Every stakeholder involved in PA’s tourism needs to be sustainable
• Sustainability in PA’s won't be achieved without measuring indicators
• Many Quality Labels developed (EU, national level, etc.)
• There is a gap – Nature is „hidden” under Environment• Nature should be emphasized in the indicators defined in
existing Quality Labels
Ministry of Environment and EnergyRadnička cesta 80/3 10 000 Zagreb
tel. +385 1 4866 102e-mail: [email protected] / www.mzoe.hr