Spatial Information Systems for Transnational Environmental Management of Pro-tected Areas and Regions in CADSES
Protected cross-border regions in the CADSES area face similar problems. Often frontiers divide one region of cultural and natural heritage into more than one national park, biosphere reserve, nature reserve or protected landscape area and they are situated in two or more countries. As a consequence, two or more administrations, management structures and - if existing - spatial information systems (SIS) are working for these regions. There is urgent need for co-ordination in establishing elaborate monitoring and management schemes in those protected regions, as human activities from one area usually affect the whole region. The increasing demand for transnational planning and management approaches is backed by various European and global initiatives such as FFH of EC, WCM of UNEP-WCMC or the UNESCO World Heritage. These initiatives foster efforts to homogenise documentation of natural heritages as well as the co-operation between administrations of neighbouring countries. The project aims at fostering regional to transnational networks of spatial information systems. The cross-border protected regions of Sächsisch-Böhmische Schweiz (DE/CZ), Neusiedler See-Seewinkel/Fertö-Hanság (AT/HU) and Krkonose/Karkonosze (CZ/PL) 
are the core regions of the project. The transnational approach is open-ended in order to assure the successive integration of additional regions throughout the duration of the project. Partners in the cross-border regions of Triglav/Prealpi Giulie (SI/IT) have already declared their co-operation at that level for example.