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Description
The fragmentation of habitats and the disturbance of the ecological connectivity of the buffer zone and the KNP is progressing due to the pressure of land use and mass tourism. Project actions are in line with EU Green Deal and Biodiversity Strategy 2030 (fostering conservation of biodiversity and state of the species and habitats).
In order to effectively counteract this pressure, it is necessary to provide reliable evidence about the role and function of ecological corridors (complex monitoring) into the process of administrative proceedings and building social capital for their protection (Partnership for green infrastr. and sustain. tourism). Also, improvement of the condition of hydrogenic ecosystems and the conservation status of species and raising awareness on ecological connectivity will be conducted.
Implement the tools for the protection plan (monitoring), improve the condition of ecosystems (footbridges above wetlands, fencing mount. grasslands), ident. ecological corridors esp. in buffer zone.
Stakeholders operating in KNP and its buffer zone, National Park services, self.gov. authorities, NGOs, investors, shelter leaseholders, and the general public, involved in project actions.
Summary of project results
The main goal of the project was to enhance biodiversity, including both species and habitats, by supporting actions and implementing the KNP protection plan in terms of ecological connectivity. Habitat fragmentation and disturbances in the buffer zone, caused by land use pressures and mass tourism, significantly impact on the functional state of ecological corridors. In response, KNP has taken a series of actions to provide reliable evidence regarding the role and function of these corridors to be used in administrative proceedings. Main task was implementation of the comprehensive fauna and antropopression monitoring. Additionally, the project aimed to build social capital for values of nature protection by fostering partnerships for green infrastructure and sustainable tourism and educational activities. Efforts have also been made to improve the condition of hydro ecosystems, and raise awareness about the importance of ecological connectivity.
The project was conducted in five workpackages:
1) Knowledge on ecological connectivity in depth
2) Nature monitoring
3) Counteracting anthropogenic pressure and protecting hydrogenic habitats
4) Partnership for the Karkonosze Mountains
5) Cross-media campaign Head up!
The geographical range of the activities covered the KPN buffer zone and the area of the KPN.
In the frame of Activity 1 there were developed 4 expert reports on: state of the mountain meadows, genetic variability of plants, inventory of ichthyofauna and herptofauna. Results of the studies contributed significantly to the recognition on natural conditions and the state of the environment in the KPN amd its buffer zone. GIS databases were incorporated to the KPN system.
As part of Activity 2, a fauna monitoring system was designed, developed and implemented in the KPN and buffer zone, and a tourist monitoring system was developed. About 100 camera traps were purchased, and located at 135 locations. Total 8 standard monitoring sessions (2x65 locations) and 1 dedicated for carnivores session at 60 locations were conducted. Specialized equipment for field observations was purchased (binoculars, flashlights, thermal imagers, hunting skis and others). About 32 sessions on fauna observations were completed at 13 field locations, which gave a total of 4856 observations in the database, 11 sesions of field-road transects were held for winter animal tracking, which allowed mapping 5374 animal tracks representing approx. 20 species. An inventory of animal tracks was also made at 60 research fields in the buffer zone, which lcoation was key for the ecological corridors. About 4361 animal tracks were recorded in the database. Also the TRAPPER IT system was developed and implemented in order to manage data from camera traps, supported by AI machine learning models, which processed approx. 0.4 million photos, of which almost 0.2 million were animal observations. The AI model identified 14 species specific to the Karkonosze area. Results of data processing were summarize in report, and consequently datasets were incorporated to the KPN database. Additionally special detectors for monitoring bats were purchased and two monitoring sessions were conducted in the KPN buffer zone. Also devices for telemetric monitoring of birds and mammals was purchased.
In the frame of Activity 3 special footbridges on tourist trails over hydrogenic habitats - peat bogs and wetlands, were renovated in total lenght 840 m. Also, 70 small water-walls were also built in places where it is necessary to slow down the outflow of water for better functioning of mountain ecosystems of open areas. Annual fencing of areas necessary for protection against trampling was carried out, a total of 4 km.
Activity 4 mainly consisted of workshops and expert reports on sustainable spatial planning and sustainable tourism. Two reports were created and 10 discussion workshops were held for 305 people.
Activity 5 mainly consisted of direct educational activities and broad cross-media campaign. As part of the educational activities, 49 events were held, in which 1,589 people took part. The educational meetings were aimed at building awareness of the value of nature conservation in the Karkonosze Mountains and engaging people in active conservation activities, e.g. Frog Action (an average of 800 frogs were saved per season), Meetings with the Neighbours. The cross-media campaign consisted of an outdoor component (5 thematic posters on bilboards and citylights in Warsaw, Poznań and Wrocław, 2 animation visualizations in Lower Silesia Railways), a radio component - 2 radio spots (2 months of broadcasting in two regional stations), idea placement implemented with the Hasjące Zające bloggers, and an ongoing campaign on social media.
As a result of all activities, it was possible to reach almost 30 million people with a messages about responsible tourism and the value of the Karkonosze nature. A film documenting the activities within the project was created, which was also edited into 5 thematic shorts for publication on social media. 10 articles were published in the Karkonosze quarterly devoted to the activities of the project, a conference was held with workshops devoted to the presentation of the project results but also discussion on problems of ecological connectivity in protected areas, with almost 150 participants including representatives of the Ministry of Climate and Environment. A number of educational materials were created: Weekend without Śnieżka - a guide for tourists to the KPN buffer zone, tourist maps in 2 formats. Press briefings were held on an ongoing basis, at which invitations to activities within the project were given.
Project significantly contributed to implementation of the Karkonosze National Park protection plan, better state of the habitats and species, recognition of the ecological connectivity problems and challenges and better communication with stakeholders.
The implementation of the project contributed to:
1) Effective environmental monitoring through the development of the monitoring system with IT tools and specialist equipment;
2) Increase of the skills and team-development in using implmented tools and devices in operational mode, development of digital competences, development of skills in the field of observation, methodologies for conducting fauna monitoring of methods to our work - both in the field and in administrative procedures;
3) Strengthening teamwork - the project required good organization of tasks between KPN departments - development of soft skills (added value of the project);
4) Cooperation with research institutes - we learned about current trends in research on fauna monitoring and tourist pressure, botanical and genetic research;
5) Exchange of experiences with stakeholders - a series of meetings within the Partnership and educational activities allowed for a better understanding of the expectations of the parties to the dialogue as well as communicating and explaining the core essence of the activities undertaken in KPN;
6) The final conference was a metaphysical experience for us - together with the participants, we managed to take a big step in raising awareness of the problem of ecological connectivity and the ecological corridors in the surroundings of protected areas, which was expressed in the position submitted to the local government units, the President of the Republic of Poland;
7) The use of the cross-media approach in the campaign proved effective in the context of the image and message from the KPN to tourists - the outdoor campaign was very well assessed and also showed excellent result. A very important element of the campaign was its slogan and graphic design - it was a strong element of visual identification and building the aesthetics of the message. Campaign activities in the social media were conducted continuously;