Proposals for environmental policy and governance based on demontration of environmental, social and economic benefits from tourism in the Slitere national park - a NATURA 2000 territory (LIFE07 ENV/LV/000981)

1. Sustainable tourism management model of a Natura 2000 site developed, based on 5 new sustainable nature tourism products and their marketing module:
• Slītere National park guide;
• 5 outdoor info stands based on elaborated info stand template;
• “Plant finder” featuring common but attractive species instead of exposing rare and sensitive species);
• tourism monitoring methodology multiplying the project results and their impact in improvement of the product life-cycle, social and economic aspects.
2. Positive awareness of Natura 2000 among all target groups reached through dissemination/communication campaign:
• Guide on sustainable nature based tourism products in the 14 National parks - NATURA 2000 sites in the Baltic countries as a common sustainable tourism destination;
• Manual on best practices on integration of tourism and nature protection in Europe;
• Final Baltic Nature tourism conference for wide audience of tourism and environmental specialists in Europe

With the contribution of the LIFE financial instrument of the European Community. Co-financed Ministry of  the Environment and Latvian Environmental Protection Fund Administration.

Project demonstration:

The pilot project will be run at the Slītere National Park, which is a “Natura 2000” territory.  The oldest part of the park is an area in which there has been no economic activity at all for the last 80 years – this applies to 1,100 hectares of land.  The current boundaries of the park were defined in 2000, with 16,360 hectares of land and 10,130 hectares of sea.  The territory offers a great amount of geological and biological diversity, with forests, swamps, dunes and hollows.  The area is all but untouched by humankind, because there are few residents, but also because it was a closed military zone from the end of World War II until the 1990s.  The Slītere National Park is becoming an increasingly popular tourist destination.  The territory is perfect for demonstrating how a model for environmentally friendly and sustainable tourism can be implemented in protected natural territories, even as the number of visitors to such territories increases substantially.

The administration of the Slītere National Park

Project partners:

LLTA "Lauku ceļotājs"

European Centre for Eco and Agro Tourism - Nederland