Conference programme

Location: The Radisson Blu Daugava hotel, Rīga

March 22, 2011

	8:30	Registration and coffee
	9:00	Welcome and opening of the conference - Raimonds Vējonis, Minister of the Environmental Protection and Regional Development of Latvia

	9:05 - 9:20	Facilitate tourism cooperation – the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region Wolf Born, Priority Area Coordinator Tourism, EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region, State Chancellery Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany

	9:20 - 10:40	PANEL 1: Nature protection policies – ways to impact and proposals to improve based on experiences in grass-root level.
	The panel discusses interaction between nature protection and rural development sectors, involvement of local stakeholders in aware and constructive participation to national nature protection policy building for benefit of both sectors. Case studies on how nature protection policies are implemented in protected nature areas and what is the process to improve these policies and their interpretation through local community involvement.

	Keynote speech	Policy proposals for tourism development and nature protection balance, based on demonstration of a sustainable tourism model in the Slitere national park, Latvia. Juris Smalinskis, Latvian Country Tourism Association, EU Life+ project POLPROP-NATURA, (LIFE07 ENV/LV/000981)

	Panel presentations	How a conservation organisation got involved in tourism Michael Pugh, Forest of Bowland, Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in UK John Frederiksen, Ministry of Environment in Denmark, Nature Agency

	Moderation:	Naut Kusters, ECEAT - Netherlands

	10:40 - 11:00	Coffee break

	11:00 - 12:30	PANEL 2: Nature based tourism products in protected nature areas – market demand, product, promotion&marketing.
	The panel discusses methods in development of sustainable competitive nature based tourism products in protected nature areas. Case studies will be presented how development of tourism products according to the market needs, in cooperation between the local communities and professional tour operators knowing the market, facilitate solution of social and economic problems in rural areas.

	Keynote speech	Cycling, walking, canoeing, wildlife – bird and animal watching, botanical and mushrooming tours: how to develop market demanded products. Andris Klepers, project Sustainable use and management of nature resources in the Natura2000 sites - popular and potential tourism destinations in Latvia. Latvian Fund for Nature

	Panel presentations	Evaluation, understanding and mapping of market demands, creating the product with involvement of the local community Maarika Toomel, Heritage Tours, island of Saaremaa and Vilsandi National Park, Estonia Value creation and tourism products in Norwegian protected areas Dr. Odd Inge Vistad, NINA, Norway The potential of nature tourism in the Baltics – view of the largest tour operator Dieter Semmelroth, TUI, Germany

	Moderation:	Lucy Galvin, EUROPARC Consulting, UK

	12:30 - 13:30	Lunch

	13:30 - 15:00	PANEL 3: European Charter parks – trends, steps, cooperation, challanges.
	The European Charter for Sustainable Development is a (practical management) tool that helps protected areas and their partners develop tourism sustainably. The panel discusses how to implement the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas in the Baltic Sea Region. 4 protected areas in the Baltic Sea Region are already certified Charter parks, 6 further parks are about to apply for the certificate, going through the process of setting up stakeholder forums and developing a sustainable tourism strategy together with entrepreneurs in their areas. The panel will give answers to questions like how and why to join the European Charter, how to involve local people and tourism businesses, how to develop strategies for a future sustainable development of the region and what are the steps to go through such a process. 4 protected areas will talk about their experiences and what are the costs and benefits to join the Charter.

	Introduction	Olaf Ostermann, Ministry for Agriculture, Environment and Consumer Protection in Mecklenburg Western Pomerania / Lead Partner of the “Parks&Benefits” project, Germany

	Experience report	European Charter parks – trends, steps, cooperation, problems Lasse Lovén, Metsähallitus, Finland, EUROPARC Working Group on Sustainable Tourism

	Panel presentations	Agnese Balandina, Nature Conservation Agency, Riga Regional Administration , Latvia Klaas van Ommeren, The Dovrefjell Council, Norway Martin Kaiser, Muritz National Park, Germany Asnate Ziemele, Latvian Country Tourism association, Latvia

	Moderation:	Romy Sommer, Animare Tourism Project Management, project Parks&Benefits, Germany

	15:00 -15:30	Coffee

	15:30 – 17:00	PANEL 4: European & Baltic Green Belt – a product, an initiative or even a brand in tourism?
	The panel discusses management opportunities of heritage sites in protected nature areas, their use in tourism and the potential to develop Green Belt products as a brand in tourism. The European Green Belt initiative unites countries along the former Iron Curtain, where the former restricted, often also military areas offer well preserved nature values and cultural heritage sites. Their common vision is to to create the backbone of an ecological network, running from the Barents to the Black Sea that is a global symbol for transboundary cooperation in nature conservation and sustainable development.

	Keynote speech	The European Green Belt: history of the initiative and examples of Green Belt tourism Dr. Karin Ullrich, German Federal Agency of Nature Conservation, Germany

	Panel Discussions	Asnate Ziemele, Latvian Country Tourism association “Lauku celotajs”, Latvia Alois Lang, Nationalpark Neusiedler See - Seewinkel, Austria Implementation in 3-lateral park Goričko-Raab-Őrseg (SLO-AT-HU), Stanka Desnik, Goricko Nature Park, Slovenia

	Moderation:	Wolfgang Gunther, Institute fur Tourism and Recreational Research in Northern Europe (N.I.T.) and Stefanie Maack, Kiel University, Germany

	20:00	Dinner in Riga Old Town restaurant "Kaļķu vārti"