Cross-border cooperation for sustainable development and tourism, trough valorization of rural cultural heritage and conservation of natural asset of areas with ancient olive groves
The project will contribute to promote sustainable tourism activities and to conserve and protect natural resources in areas with ancient olive trees and to recover awareness of local populations on their own cultural heritage linked to traditional oliviculture, by activating a process of setting local strategies of development. The Mediterranean landscape is characterized by the presence of olive groves (AOOs), part of the ancient agricultural tradition and of the social environment; this is clearly true for Albania and Montenegro as for Apulia and Molise, where AOOs play an important ecological role and are one of the important drivers of the Programme Area economy, in terms of absolute value, Gross Value Added (GVA) and employment. The project assists communities living in pilot areas in the countries, to value their surroundings by producing Parish Maps and displaying them in prominent places to promote tourism by creating a proper offer to tourists. Valorization of territories is only possible by involving local stakeholders (SHs) and by stimulating their commitment in this issue; Innovative participatory workshops entailing participatory active learning by the exchanging of expert and lay/tacit knowledge are organized in the 3 countries, to raise awareness on opportunities coming from tourism, environmental assets, local cultural heritage and transfer knowledge and share know-how, enabling the SHs to carry on local and wider contexts’ initiatives. Results are: 3 Local maps reporting AOOs and other issues of interest (in AL, ME, Molise); Cross border Best practices for conservation of AOOs landscape; local resource and community maps (3 for AL, 2 for ME, 1 for Molise);local development plans (3 AL, 2 ME, 1 Molise); 1 COMMON RESOURCE MAP and 1 CROSS BORDER SMART SUSTAINABLE TOURIST PLAN FOR AOOs of AL, ME, IT. With participatory workshops SHs and public officers- share common rules for future local planning, improving their long-term sustainability.