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Description
The proposed project corresponds to a constant need, that of citizens’ participation in environmental preservation, especially in territories that have been designated as protected areas due to their significant ecological value. The management of these areas is the key of their preservation and consequently the participation of citizens in management decisions that concern protected areas constitute an undoubted right and obligation, not only of the inhabitants of these territories, but also of the visiting ecotourists and of environmental NGO that are active in them. In this context, ELETOIK, aims to offer a free and easily accessible “forum” to encourage the activation of citizens’ participation in decisions for the management and the preservation of protected areas, with the set up of an online platform for citizens and NGO, bringing together all interested parties, to register their observations and proposals for the improvement of the protection of an area, so that the local Management Unit of the Protected Area will shape their decisions accordingly. The platform will allow space for online discussions with the local Management Unit. The effectiveness of the platform will be evaluated in a pilot application in a protected area. Organise a day conference, inviting environmental NGOs, and public authorities with responsibilities for the protected areas, to discuss public participation in decisions that concern protected areas and improvement of the methods used. Create a brief Guide for the participation of citizens in decisions concerning the management and protection of protected areas. The Guide will be uploaded in the platform, and will be freely available as training material for public participation and the use of the platform. The above activities ae expected to help the start of a wider effort to involve citizens in the management and preservation of protected areas, including those who live and work in the areas or visit the areas as ecotourists.
Summary of project results
The Guardians of Nature project undertook a pilot systematic effort to mobilize citizens in protected areas, with the aim of creating a methodology for citizen intervention, so that the protection and management of sensitive ecosystems becomes a joint effort of management authorities and citizens, while contributing to the broader sensitization of the public. The project focused on the pilot area of the Messolonghi Lagoon-Akarnanian Mountains National Park and Lake Trichonida. In this context, the cooperation of the Civil Society agencies and the public administration bodies was ensured, including the Management Body of the National Park, the Local Authorities and the Regional Authority of Western Greece. The core of local actors that formed the Network "Guardians of Nature" confirmed the uncontrolled dumping of garbage in sensitive protected areas as the subject of planned local intervention and was mobilized for securing the promotion of wider public awareness.
The actions carried out during the 6 months of the Project’s duration include:
- The set-up of an electronic platform (forum) for citizens and NGOs (connected to the website of ELETOIK http://www.greekecotourism.gr.
- The creation of a network of local agencies, which brought together 10 Civil Society organizations and 2 public bodies.
- The conduct of two voluntary clean up actions in selected areas, where the problem of uncontrolled waste disposal is serious, and in particular in Louros Beach (inside the National Park) and in Lake Trichonida (NATURA area). The voluntary actions mobilized a total of 100 volunteers from the wider area of Messolonghi and Agrinio and acquired a supra-local character, while receiving extensive publicity.
- The organization of a Conference in Aetoliko, which succeeded in opening the discussion among the local Civil Society, the citizens and the public administration, regarding the participatory processes that are necessary to ensure the involvement of the citizens in the management decisions concerning the protected areas.
- The production of a Guide for Citizens'' Participation in the management and protection of ecologically sensitive areas, based on the experience of the implementation of the pilot project Guardians of Nature.