Consolidated results of workshops “Assessment of involvement of local communiteis in the work of protected areas”

WWF held 67 workshops, “Assessment of involvement of local communities in protected area decision-making processes” in parks around the region. Following these workshops the team of experts that designed the assessment methodology.

The experts used a specific methodology to compile and analyse the results from all the parks. Based on this, an action plan is being developed which includes recommendations for how to improve cooperation between parks and local communities. The main result will be national reports for each country that will be submitted to relevant institutions and partners.

The experts presented the results to the Association Parks Dinarides, which will use the results as a norm for the entire network of protected areas in the region. In this way, the cooperation between the parks and local communities will be improved, as it is a precondition for good management of protected areas.
Wilf Fenten, Richard Partington, Jana Kus Veenvliet, Violeta Orlović Lovren – all long-time experts on protected areas – were part of the team. Together with Parks Dinarides and WWF team, they analysed the data collected during the workshops that were conducted by 22 specially trained facilitators.

Recommendations for protected areas in each country and the national reports will be published this autumn. Parks Dinarides, together with WWF, will continue over the next two years a set of activities aimed at improving the work of protected areas, under the program “Protected areas for nature and people”.