European Diploma for Protected Areas (EDPA) - Meetings 2015

Back Workshop "Protected areas in Europe: the next 50 years" - 50th Anniversary of the EDPA

On 21-22 May the Council of Europe will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the European Diploma for Protected Areas and the International Day for Biological Diversity through the international Workshop on “Protected Areas in Europe: the next 50 years”. The Workshop is organised with the sponsorship of the Ministry of Environment of Italy and of the Tuscany Region, and in cooperation with EUROPARC Federation.

The participants will address the challenges that protected areas face in an interconnected world, and exchange experiences and ideas on: the use of information technologies and citizen science for sustainable conservation of areas of importance for biological diversity; how climate change, globalisation and invasive alien species will change the nature conservation policies and management; and innovative management of protected areas.

A video celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the European Diploma will be officially launched during the Opening session.

Workshop information

Presentations

Opening speech on behalf of the Ministry of the Environment, Land and Sea, Mr Felice Cappelluti, Technical Officer, Ministry of the Environment, Land and Sea
Introduction of the workshop by the key speaker, Mr Michael Usher, ecologist: Protected Areas: the last 50 years and challenges for the next 50 years: “The European Diploma for Protected Areas: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow”
Presentation of the working methods by the Rapporteur general, Mr Hervé Lethier, expert

Session 1 : Applying new technologies and communication challenges to Protected Areas (Citizen Science communication, Networking Protected Areas, Networking knowledge)

Introduction of the theme by the moderator, Ms Carol Ritchie, Executive Director, EUROPARC Federation
Case study 1: Ms Jane Chapman, Assistant director, Peak District National Park, and Ms Sarah Proctor, Project Manager, Community Science Project, Moors for the Future Partnership, United Kingdom: “Communicating Citizen Science: Moors for the Future Partnership’s Community Science Project”
Case study 2: Mr Valery Iukovich, Deputy Director for scientific and research work, Berezinsky State Biosphere Reserve, Belarus: “How networking knowledge contributes to conservation and sustainable development of protected areas: a case of Berezinsky (Belarus), Kampinoski (Poland), and Northern Vosges (France) biosphere reserves”
Case study 3: Mr Szarvas Imre, Manager, Ipolytarnóc Protected Area, Hungary: “European Diploma-holding Areas and the Geopark initiative in Hungary”
Case study 4: Mr Harry Koenders, Public affairs officer, Staatsbosbeheer, The Netherlands: “The role of communication in supporting and protecting nature in the Oostvaardersplassen”
Case study 5: Mr Marc Roekaerts, Expert, Belgium: “Networking Data, towards Information for many"

Session 2: Management of Protected Areas and climate change: new challenges

Introduction of the theme by the moderator, Mr Øystein Størkersen (Norway), Chairperson of the Standing Committee to the Bern Convention
Case study 1: Mr Eladio Fernández-Galiano, Head of the Democratic Initiatives Department, Council of Europe: “New rules to new circumstances: how to adapt international and domestic legislation on protected areas to climate change”
Case study 2: Mr Robert Brunner, Expert, Austria: "Renewable energy: Benefit or threat for protected areas?"
Case study 3: Mr Frederik Zwart, District officer, Staatsbosbeheer Frisian Wadden Islands, Boschplaat Nature Reserve, The Netherlands: “Sea Level Rise: Sandy solutions, Solid as a rock?”
Case study 4: Mr Olivier Biber, Expert, Switzerland: “Birds and climate change”

Session 3: Management of Protected Areas and invasive alien species: new challenges

Introduction of the theme by the moderator, Mr. Andrea Monaco, researcher, Regional Parks Agency - Lazio
Case study 1: Mr Joe Sultana, Expert, Malta: “The eradication of the introduced species on Selvagem Islands”
Case study 2: Mr Antonio Perfetti, Head of Management of Natural Resources Department, Regional Park of Migliarino, San Rossore and Massaciuccoli, Italy: “Reach IAS Control in Mediterranean Coastal Ecosystems”
Case study 3: Mr Pál Kézdy, Deputy Director, Duna-Ipoly National Park Directorate, and Mr József Vers, Head ranger, Tihany Peninsula, Hungary: “Nature conservation management of European Diploma sites of Hungary, with special regards to the problem of invasive alien species”
Case study 4: Mr Robert Tanner, Scientific Officer - Invasive Alien Plants, European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO), France: “Mitigating the impacts of invasive alien plants in the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection region”

Session 4: Innovative management

Introduction of the theme by the moderator, Dr. Jo Gilbert, Head of Reserves Ecology, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)
Case study 1: Ms Lucia Venturi, President, Maremma Regional Park, Italy: “The sustainable mobility: the experience in Maremma Park”
Case study 2: Ms Nihan Yenilmez Arpa, Division Director, General Directorate of Nature Conservation & National Parks, Turkey: “Management of the protected areas in Turkey”
Case study 3: Ms Maria Husslein, Head of visitors’ management, Bayerischer Wald National Park, Germany: “Socio-economic studies in the Bavarian Forest National Park”
Case study 4: Ms Roberta Latini, Biologist, Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise National Park, Italy: "New perspectives in the coordinated management of a protected species: the case study of the Apennine chamois"
Case study 5: Mr Michael Schimek, Manager, Wachau Protected Landscape, Austria: “The pros and cons of voluntary site management”