EUROPARC Conference 2015 Protected Areas in a Changing World 26 27 October, Regensburg (DE) Programme This year the EUROPARC conference is taking a different structure. We will still bring you new ideas and thinking on some of the issues facing Protected Areas in Europe with opportunities to consider some practical solutions in workshops and networking, but in a short, more compact event. So register now for this exciting EUROPARC event of the year! Only 120 for EUROPARC members and 160 for non members, excluding accommodation. Dinner on Monday 26th is optional. Please see options on the registration form. Protected Areas in a Changing World You can either react to change, embrace change or create change. The natural world is in a constant state of change and as Protected Area managers we embrace that, examine, study it, explain it to others. Yet as Protected Area managers the seemingly constant change in our organisations, in the political, policy, social and economic aspects of our work life we are in an endless state of reacting. But can we create positive change in ourselves, in our organisations that can alter the direction of change in the natural world. "Protected Areas in a Changing World", will consider some of the environmental, political, economic, social and organisational factors which influence Protected Areas and how they function. We will too look for some practical responses highlighted by keynote speakers, but exemplified through peer learning in workshops. Sharing ideas, experience and practise will enable Protected Area managers to find solutions to the challenges they face through networking with colleagues from across Europe.
General Assembly The General Assembly of the EUROPARC Federation will take place on the morning of Tuesday 27 th October. A separate invitation and details will be sent to you nearer the time. This is the opportunity to celebrate our achievements and manage the business of our federation. On behalf of the president and council, we very much look forward to welcoming you and to your participation. Monday 26th October overview
Tuesday 27th October overview Historical city tour If you wish to stay an extra day on Tuesday 27th a special guided tour of the historical world heritage city of Regensburg can be arranged for EUROPARC members. If you would like this option please indicate on the option section of the registration form! Guided City Tour (77,00 per tour/max. 25 people in German or English). Festival of EUROPARC. EUROPARC Marketplace Monday 26 th October from 5pm. This year an exciting opportunity for members and sections to share their experience directly will come in the form of a EUROPARC marketplace. Working with EUROPARC sections, this festival of EUROPARC will link your experiences and projects with members, sections and partners bringing a lively marketplace of ideas and innovation. Perhaps you want to disseminate the results of a project you are or were involved in or indeed take this chance to find new partners with a common interest to make new applications. Then use the marketplace to share your ideas! The target is to connect better our network by concrete direct exchange! Drinks and snacks from your region can be brought to show and share with your colleagues!
How can you be involved? First you need to attend the conference, then let us know you are interested by filling in the registration form. Once we know, then we will allocate as much space as is possible, to members from across Europe. Those who are confirmed can then bring a display in the form of posters, brochures and food or products and we will provide space and tables. The availability of electricity supply (if you wish to show video/slides) is limited so again this will need to be advised in advance. Hot food will not be permitted at the venue. Off course during the marketplace someone should be on your stand to give information. Space will be limited in the venue so you MUST register if you wish to be involved. We will not be able to accommodate anyone who turns up with posters/material or roll ups, so please use the marketplace option on the registration form. Please support this event by coming along with a colourful fun display about YOUR section, YOUR region, YOUR project, YOUR park. EUROPARTY We know EUROPARC members and friends like to loosen your tie after a hard day of work, to let down your hair after dinner and dance and celebrate the good work we have achieved for EUROPARC members across Europe. This year will be more like a party at home as we have fun in the venue of our adopted Regensburg home. Dinner on Monday 26th is optional, you are free to enjoy the culinary delights of Regensburg, but for your convenience an affordable and delicious buffet will be available in the Kolpinghaus for only 27, payable direct to the venue. You won't get a cheaper meal in Regensburg, and you will be on site, and ready to relax and enjoy time with your EUROPARC friends in the evening, able to get home easily to your hotel, as we turn the venue, with bar, into a EUROPARTY! Please select this option on the registration form in order that we can inform the venue of numbers attending for dinner. Please complete the registration form online now to secure your place!
Please complete one registration form for each person attending. Once you have opened the form, unfortunately, you will not be able to save it and go back to it later, so you will need to complete all necessary fields. So please take the opportunity to read the programme and options and make your choices before filing in the form. Please too have your invoicing data ready as you will need to complete the billing information before the form is complete.
Keynote Speakers Ignace Schops In between presiding over the EUROPARC Federation, Ignace finds time to be the Director of the Belgian NGO Regionaal Landschap Kempen en Maasland (RLKM), full member of the EU chapter of Club of Rome, Goldman Prize Winner, Ashoka Fellow, Climate Leadership Corps. Protected Areas in a Changing Environment Are Protected Areas passive passengers of climate change or drivers of sustainability? Our own President will reflect on his wide ranging work in climate change and sustainability campaigning to consider how Protected Areas can respond to a planet in the grip of a climate change crisis. Ignace Schops Don MacMonagle Jonny Hughes Jonny is Chief Executive of the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Scotland s largest environmental charity. The Trust owns and manages 120 Protected Areas and wildlife reserves ranging from small urban sites to large upland landscapes. Jonny is also a member of the global IUCN Council and in recent years has become a champion of the concept of Natural Capital, co-founding the first World Forum on Natural Capital which took place in Edinburgh in 2013 to widespread acclaim. A second World Forum will take place in Jonny Hughes, Scottish Wildlife Trust Edinburgh on the 23-24th of November 2015. Protected Areas and a Changing Economy Are Protected Areas the new natural asset bankers? Jonny will challenge the view the environment can be managed in a separate silo from the economy. Jonny will argue that it is poor economic decision making that has caused the environmental crisis we face today, and it is this broken economics we need to fix if we are to reverse ecological degradation. What role should Protected Areas play in an emerging economic system which seeks to incorporate the invisible values and benefits which Natural Capital provides?
Alberto Arroyo Schnell Senior Policy Advisor - Biodiversity, WWF European Policy Office Alberto focuses his activity on European biodiversity policy and Protected Areas, and coordinates WWF s European Network on biodiversity related issues. He is also the Chairman of the European Habitats Forum, which assembles 25 leading European nature conservation organisations working on European nature conservation. Protected Areas in a changing policy framework. EU Biodiversity Policy: what are the challenges and opportunities? Albert Arroyo Schnell, WWF Protected Areas operate with a policy framework at a global, European, national and regional level. Yet these policies vary according to political circumstances, and even sometimes can be contradictory. The European level can be seen sometimes far away for practitioners, but often determines the future and present action for nature conservation. How can we navigate nature conservation and sustainable development through this policy maze? Dr Laura Meagher Laura has spent over 25 years working in the US and the UK with and within research and education institutions, along with industry and government, focussing on strategic change. She has frequently catalysed and facilitated novel initiatives, often multi-sector, inter-institutional and/or interdisciplinary, so is keenly aware of challenges, issues and practical mechanisms. Protected Areas- The change from within: How can people in Protected Areas manage with seemingly endless organizational change? Dr Laura Meagher For many Protected Areas, agencies and institutions, organisational change is almost ever present. Mergers between organisations and departments, cuts in budgets, staff losses all seemingly imposed by unseen politicians and bureaucrats. How can any management system respond effectively and indeed how can individuals cope in such a changing world?
Workshops Monday 26 th October 2pm - 4pm EUROPARC workshops are an excellent opportunity to get new ideas and learn from your colleagues working in similar Protected Areas issues across Europe. This year we have handed workshops over to members and sections with particular expertise and knowledge to bring you examples from their areas. The 2 hour workshops will be in English and will focus on topics with practical solutions. Although case studies will be presented the workshops are intended to be lively interactive discussions looking at real life examples from parks and how Protected Areas are coping with the changing world! Workshop 1: Young people in Protected Areas: Taking the lead for Nature You will never change if you don t work with young people, said one participant at the 1st EUROPARC youth conference in Hungary 2013. Young people are our future and in this workshop we bring the results of the 2nd event the Youth camp in Spain in 2015. We will consider mentoring and youth leadership programmes and how you can get young people more involved in the work of your Protected Area. This workshop will be led by EUROPARC. Workshop 2: Professional development for Protected Area management Do we really know what competencies we need to manage Protected Areas and how to identify the training needs of our staff? Pro Park (Romania) have been working on a BfN funded project to develop training needs analysis in 23 Eastern Europe countries and capacity building plans for Protected Area staff in 2 pilot countries and one region. Their experience might help you to understand how to manage and develop staff competencies for efficient Protected Area management. This workshop will be led by ProPark Foundation for Protected Areas, EUROPARC member from Romania. Workshop 3: Seeds of Growth: Multi-functionality of agriculture in Protected Areas Working with the agriculture sector in and around Protected Areas is good for biodiversity and for sustainable economic development. Examples from France will show how they reconcile the management of agriculture and the Protected Areas showing how agroecology can work and the development of local brands and agri-tourism enterprises bringing economic benefits. Workshop led by EUROPARC France.
Workshop 4: The Nature of cooperation: Managing Protected Areas in partnership Examples from the transboundary parks across the Central Eastern European region will reflect on how working in partnership and a share of international experience has brought benefits to the management of their areas. What makes a good partnership work? What are the strengths and challenges that EUROPARC members can learn from the transboundary experience? Workshop led by EUROPARC Central Eastern Europe section (CEE), moderated by Jakub Kašpar, president of the section.