Building management capacities of Carpathian protected areas for the integration and harmonization of biodiversity protection and local socio-economic development.
The Carpathians belong to the most important European eco-regions. Biodiversity loss and increasing pressures threaten its outstanding natural values. Traditional approaches to resource management and nature conservation are no longer sufficient to guarantee long-lasting economic benefits and provision of ecosystem services. Such problems cannot be solved by one country alone, and require transnational cooperation. CENTRALPARKS aims at improving management capacities of protected areas. Project will support nature protection and local sustainable development, improve integrated environmental management capacities and policies, enhance transnational cooperation, and mitigate current threats and pressures to biodiversity. Policy support documents and tools, tailored for decision-makers and protected area managers, focus on enhancing biodiversity and landscape conservation, local sustainable tourism development, integrated nature conservation planning, habitat evaluation, ESS, and communication with local communities. CENTRALPARKS promotes joint actions for integrated management of biodiversity, including joint transnational thematic task forces, involving experts from Carpathian countries. The project will reconcile nature conservation and local socio-economic development, raise support and involvement of local communities. It will develop and test innovative environmental management tools, such as the ESS Toolkit, and laser scan surveying method for habitat evaluation and management planning. CENTRALPARKS encourages transnational networking, aims at harmonizing approaches at the international level, and will facilitate the harmonization of measures undertaken in border areas and transboundary-protected areas. Strategies shall be endorsed by the Carpathian Convention, facilitating uptake to the policy level, and implementation in a long-term perspective.