Integration of recreation and tourism concerns in Natura 2000 management planning processes to support sustainability in the alpine area
The Alpine region contains a large number of valuable habitats and rare species of European interest, which are protected in Natura 2000 sites. They also host plenty of tourist destinations of European significance. Therefore tourist businesses are concerned that future development options may be severely limited and the recreational use of the landscape may be restricted, and that lack of information may lead to unjustified regulations. One crucial component for solving conflicts in Natura 2000 sites are management plans. This project will develop a management framework specific for sites with intensive tourism use. It will be developed and tested in several sites, and rely on comparative and standardised visitor monitoring methods, and appropriate forms of public participation that take the unique situations of tourist businesses into consideration. The project will also initiate a network of Natura 2000 sites and tourism destinations to share experiences and management options.