EAI NEWS
Sustainable tourism
A
report of the last meeting of EAI's Charter and Sustainable Tourism
Network, which focused on the issue of green certification, is now online. Consultation on EAI's methodology for "Charter Part II" is continuing.
We are very pleased to announce that the
Green Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS) is offering all tourism businesses working with certified Charter parks a 10% discount on annual fees as well as waiving the initial registration fee.
Junior Rangers
EAI has published a
good practice guide on junior ranger programmes as part of its Youth in Action funded project "Establishing a Young Ranger Network". EAI will be undertaking further activities to develop the
network; a number of protected landscapes have started schemes over the past few months.
Volunteering
As part of the EU Grundtvig-funded project
Volunteer Management in European Parks, Aled Lewis, Community Warden with the Isle of Anglesey AONB, recently returned from a learning exchange visit to Iceland. Emma Cunningham, Project Officer at the Mourne Heritage Trust, undertakes a visit to Spain in September to study how volunteers are involved in fire prevention activities there.
Coastal and marine
The working group seminar on Marine Planning and Protected Landscapes, to be held on behalf of the Marine Management Organisation, has been scheduled for Thursday 3rd October.
For more details on any aspect of the EAI work programme or how to get involved, please contact Richard Blackman. Up-to-the minute news is published via Twitter @EFAtlanticIsles, which can also be viewed on the EAI website.
FEDERATION NEWS
Health and Protected Areas Working Group
A
report of the June meeting of the Federation's working group on Health and Protected Areas held in Edinburgh on 20th and 21st June is now online. EAI members Scottish Natural Heritage, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park contributed along with colleagues from Denmark, Estonia and Finland. Watch this space for more news!
EUROPARC 2013
Registration for
EUROPARC 2013 is still open. The event will be held from 9th - 13th October in Debrecen, Hungary, hosted by the Hortobagy National Park. It is focusing on protected area management under the title of "40 Years Working for Nature".
EUROPARC CONSULTING NEWS
An experience to treasure: Evaluating “Our Land”
In October 2012 EUROPARC Consulting was extremely pleased to accept a contract to
evaluate the project “Our Land – Experiences to Treasure”. The task involved assessing the project delivery to date and making recommendations to ensure its continued success. The Final Report for the project has since been completed and passed on to the project partners.
Our Land and subsequent work on the
COOL Tourism Interreg project has greatly increased the company’s expertise and knowledge of Britain’s AONBs. At one point EUROPARC Consulting was delighted to be co-operating closely with nine AONBs across the south of England and a total of 15 protected landscapes in England alone.
PUBLICATIONS
The value of Scotland's National Parks
The
Scottish National Parks Sector Review, published by Visit Scotland, has shown that the
Cairngorms and
Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Parks contributed £243 million to the country's economy in 2012.
The value of AONBs
An assessment of
The Value of AONB Partnerships, prepared by Land Use Consultants, highlights the importance and value of AONBs to rural economies.
A green economy in Europe
The EEA has published a new report
Towards a Green Economy in Europe, which provides an overview of policies and targets in EU environmental policy through to 2050.
LEED Toolkit
A
local environment and economic development toolkit has been published, produced by a Defra-led network of organisations; it's aimed particularly at Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and at strengthening environmental information and embedding the environment in strategic plans for economic growth.
National AONB conference
The National Association of AONBs held its annual conference earlier this month in Ipswich on the theme of water management. All the presentations and interviews with the speakers are available on their
conference website.
Bees
Defra's
policy paper on the health and value of bees and other pollinators outlines current and proposed policies and initiatives to support bees.
Butterflies
The EEA has published its comprehensive report
The European Grassland Butterfly Indicator, 1990-2011. It records a dramatic decline in numbers.
CONSULTATIONS
Protected Landscapes in Wales
The Welsh Government has announced a
consultation on its draft policy statement for protected landscapes in Wales. Deadline to respond is 20th September.
England East Marine Plan
The Marine Management Organisation has published
draft marine plans for the seas from Flamborough Head to Felixstowe. It has also announced a consultation on them that runs until 8th October.
POLICY NEWS
New LIFE Regulation
European Union institutions have reached agreement on a
new LIFE Regulation for the period 2014-2020 and it now awaits formal adoption later this year.
