Global Ecotourism Conference 2007 (GEC07) Session Three: Innovative Approaches to Ecotourism and Conservation
Title: The Greenways initiative from an ecotourism perspective. Stories from Central & Eastern Europe Session Three: Innovative Approaches to Ecotourism and Conservation May 15th, 13.00-15.00
Authors: Dominika Zaręba National Greenways Manager Polish Environmental Partnership Foundation e-mail: dominika.zareba@epce.org.pl David Murphy Director Environmental Partnership for Sustainable Development e-mail: david.murphy@ecn.cz Abstract: Central and Eastern European Greenways program (CEG) is a regional program under the umbrella of the Environmental Partnership for Sustainable Development (EPSD) – a consortium of six environmental foundations in Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania. Within the larger and regional context, the CEG program is a framework for interlinking local civic initiatives aimed at conserving natural and cultural heritage and fostering sustainable tourism development in the region. At a time when more and more local communities across the globe are struggling to maintain the uniqueness of the places they live, Greenways serve as innovative tools for enhancing the quality of life, increasing opportunities for environmentally responsible tourism and conserving fragile natural resources and unique cultural heritage. Greenways concept addresses directly the principles of ecotourism expressed in the “Quebec Declaration on Ecotourism” through increasing economic and social benefits for indigenous communities, contributing to the conservation of natural resources and the cultural integrity of local communities as well as increasing environmental awareness of visitors. This paper presents case studies on how greenways can contribute to the development and promotion of ecotourism. Stories from the Prague-Vienna Greenway, Moravian Wine Trails, Oder River Trail, East Carpathian Greenway and the new greenways initiatives in Belarus show how greenways stimulate better relationships between local citizens and the environment, increase interest in heritage protection, and support development of sustainable tourism – especially services based on the ecological use of local resources and grass-roots initiatives of local communities.
INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND Who we are? The Environmental Partnership is a consortium of six foundations in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia that are focused on mobilizing and empowering the people of the region to improve their environment, their local communities and societies. Since their establishment in 1991, the Environmental Partnership foundations have invested nearly â‚Ź 20 million in support of more than 7,200 individual initiatives and are currently the most significant private source of funding for community-based environmental initiatives in the region. As well as providing financial and technical support to local, grassroots organizations, EPSD foundation also run directed regional programming designed to address regional and cross-border issues. By promoting practical action, EPSD helps to build bridges of cooperation between individuals, civic organizations, businesses and governments. Its role is fostering the enthusiasm, ideas, innovation and commitment to working with others that is essential to bringing about long-term improvements in the environment, the economy and society, especially in cross-border perspective. In addition to providing grants to non-profit groups and communities, the Environmental Partnership foundations have established a number of common thematic programs such as Central & Eastern European Greenways (CEG). Our Mission To promote environmentally, socially and economically sustainable communities by empowering civic initiatives in the region
What is the Central & Eastern European Greenways (CEG) program? Within the larger and regional context, the CEG program is a framework for interlinking local civic initiatives aimed at conserving natural and cultural heritage and fostering sustainable tourism development in the region. CEG definition of greenways Greenways are multifunctional trails for non-motorized users typically leading along linear green corridors, historic trade routes, rivers and railways. They are managed by local people in order to encourage sustainable development and healthy lifestyle. Greenways provide a framework for community-based initiatives and projects related to nature conservation, cultural heritage preservation, sustainable tourism and mobility. Greenways seek to address needs of locals and visitors and to provide a positive contribution to the local economy. The first Greenways in Central Europe began in the early 1990s inspired by the experiences of the Hudson River Valley Greenway as well as other American Greenway initiatives. The first greenway began in the Czech Republic when a group of Czech-Americans led by Lu Chmielar began to promote the idea of a Vienna-Prague Greenway. The greenways concept was then shared by the Environmental Partnership foundations and promoted in each country. Thanks to this cooperation, the Central & Eastern European Greenways program has been promoted as a civic grass-roots initiative across the region since 2000. The cooperation with greenway organizations on the European level started in 2002 when the Czech Environmental Partnership foundation joined the European Greenways Association with one seat on the Steering committee of this organization. In 2005 we founded the Central and Eastern European Greenways program within the Environmental Partnership association to systematically promote Greenways initiatives in
Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia and to share our experience and knowhow with and help inspire people in neighboring countries such as Serbia, Ukraine and Belarus. The CEG network currently includes 8 long-distance greenways and a dozen or more local trails (see map) – over 6500 km of „eco-trails“. All CEG greenways are implemented in line with a shared set of criteria and principles (the Sopron Decelaration adopted in 2006). The aim of the CEG is to contribute to strengthening a grassroots or ‘bottom-up’ movement for sustainable development across Central and Eastern Europe through establishing, nurturing and networking local partnerships involving civic, business, and governmental organizations working together on communitybased initiatives. The CEG provides local communities with access to relevant experience, and inspiration of others, as well as financial and technical assistance for their efforts to use heritage values as a basis for sustainable tourism development in all its three dimensions of social, environmental and economic. All Central European Greenways are implemented according to the following principles: 1. Supporting and mobilizing local communities – encouraging local enterprise, creating jobs and additional revenue streams, restoring and protecting traditional vocations; 2. Natural and cultural heritage conservation and landscape protection; 3. Using local resources – accommodation and food, tourist services, guides and local products; 4. Cooperation between countries, regions, towns, villages and their inhabitants; 5. Helping local communities discover and strengthen their cultural and social identity, improving conditions and quality of life; 6. Providing information and opportunities for tourists to help them better understand the region, its challenges and local initiatives, activities, organizations; 7. Promoting non-motorized transport and environmentally-friendly tourism, recreation and sport; 8. Creating opportunities in urban areas for use of more sustainable forms of transport to help people move about on foot, by bicycle or by public transport instead of using their own car; 9. Encouraging people to be mobile, to improve their health and safety when travelling and to undertake active and responsible forms of recreation. Since 2007 EPSD will also start using Greenways and the Greenways constituency of local communities as a basis for dealing with global challenges, such as climate change and contributing to reducing CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions at the regional Central European level. Having built up a Greenways constituency of local groups, businesses and communities, as well as individuals, we will now concentrate on using this 'asset' as a basis for promoting Greenways as an environmental program that contributes in measurable ways to reducing the carbon footprint of Central Europe. Greenways have the opportunity to become exemplars of just what is meant by low carbon living and traveling.
DISCUSSION: ECOTOURISM ALONG GREENWAYS – CASE STUDIES Prague-Vienna Greenway (Czech Republic, Austria) The Prague Vienna Greenway (PVG) is the oldest and most visited Greenway of the CEG. The backbone trail stretches 470 km along the Vltava River Valley in Southern Bohemia and Dyje River Valley in Southern Moravia. The Prague-Vienna Greenway combines environmental initiatives and activities of nearly 40 local NGOs. Visitors can walk or bike between historic towns and villages as well visit natural areas – wetlands, steppe biotopes, spring forests, old-tree alleys, bird sanctuaries, located within the national and landscape parks, natural reserves, and protected landscape areas, including Natura 2000 sites. Tourist products for individuals along the greenway are arranged and distributed through the travel agency – Greenways Travel Club – a tourist partner of CEG program. The tours, dedicated for various users such as cyclists, hikers, horse-back riders or water enthusiasts, also specialize in ecotourism (ex. the bird watching tours through South Moravia and South Bohemia in Czech Republic abound with bird reserves and sanctuaries). 20% of tour operators’ profits go directly to support participating non-profit initiatives. Along the trail travelers are offered to visit local projects focused on nature conservation and preservation of cultural heritage, supporting in these way initiatives of local non-profit organizations. Along the greenway the “Bicyclists Welcome” certification is also being implemented. This national labeling system is addressed to accommodation, gastronomy establishments and tourist destinations (such as castles, chateaux, museums, open-air museums, natural sites). The main goal of the certificate is to improve quality of travel-related services along greenways in the Czech Republic for a specific target group of bicyclists and cycle tourists. See: www.prahaviennagreenways.org, www.prahawien.greenways.info, www.visitgreenways.com. Green Bicycle – East Carpathian Greenway (Poland, Slovakia, Ukraine) The Green Bicycle – East Carpathian Greenway aims to build an international network of bicycle and other non-motorized trails focussed on the East Carpathians Biosphere Reserve (Polish part embraces the Bieszczady mountains range). The motivation is to provide local people and visitors with access to natural and cultural heritage areas. By engaging with local communities, the Green Bicycle has become much more than just a bicycle trail. It is a source of inspiration for action to protect heritage for those concerned about threats to the outstanding natural and cultural attractions of the area. The greenway has generated new community-based initiatives – recognized with the “Green Bicycle” logo – centred on handicraft workshops and galleries, local heritage products, school projects, eco-museums and other initiatives. The Green Bicycle initiative started in Polish part of the East Carpathians in 2001 as a non-governmental initiative aimed at increasing local community involvement in economic development and protection of the outstanding natural and heritage values of the region. The project soon built up a constituency of support, who joined together to form a Local Partnership called the “Green Bieszczady”. The Partnership was created as a coalition of 32 NGOs, 10 local governments, 20 schools, 28 small and medium enterprises, the Bieszczady National Park authorities and the Polish Environmental Partnership Foundation. The leader of the greenway is Bieszczady Environmental Partnership Foundation located in Lesko, with professional help of the Bieszczady Cyclists’ Society. Although the initiative started in Poland, the Green Bicycle has been extended to the Slovak side (2004). At the moment the efforts are focused on working with Ukrainian side and building the Ukrainian part of the greenway. The 900 km long Greenway is signposted with basic direction signs and signposts with the Green Bicycle logo. Main theme of the Greenway is the atmosphere of the remote “Carpathian borderlands”. The initiators
of the project try to use distinctive character of this isolated area of Eastern Europe, that throughout the centuries, served as a melting-pot for different tribes, ethnic groups and nations. The East Carpathians bring together outstanding natural values and the colourful ethnic, historical and cultural heritage of the three countries: Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine. The core area of the UNESCO biosphere reserve (the first trilateral reserve in the world) protects old-growth forest and some of the least disturbed natural habitats in Europe, which are home to large carnivores. Along with a greenway local coalition develops a program for promoting and distributing local products with the brand “Made in Bieszczady”. Another initiative coherent with the Greenway is the program for Schools called “Schools on Green Bicycle” developed in over 20 schools, promoting environmental attitude of children and young people in the region. In 2006 the leading NGO opened a social company called “The Carpathian Centre for Active Tourism – Green Bicycle” that runs and offers several ecotourist products along the greenway and gives certification to tourist services in the region using the “Green Bicycle” brand. The income generated by the company is going to be invested in local heritage initiatives and maintenance of the signposting of the greenway. See: www.zielonyrower.pl. Moravian Wine Trails (Czech Republic) Moravian Wine Trails consist of almost 1250 km of cycling trails through orchards, vineyards and wine cellars of Southern Moravia. Local loops of the greenway are also available for mountain cyclists, hikers, horse-back riders, kayakers, cross-country skiers, etc. Winegrowing has a thousand-year-old tradition in the region. Within the relatively small area (app 290 km long between towns of Znojmo and Uherske Hradiste – two ends of the greenway), there are 310 villages that have vineyards and 10,000 people devoted to winegrowing. After 50 years of collectivization under communism regime, for last 17 years small-scale winegrowing has being slowly revitalized in the region. Today the region challenges other problems: 17% of unemployment, high taxes and unfavorable law for small vintners. In addition, subsidized wine from other countries and from large commercial vintners presents a serious threat to the traditional winegrowing culture of small Moravian wine cellars. The project of the Moravian Wine Trails focusing on cycling trails and improvement of services in rural tourism for individual visitors has 5 main goals: • landscape protection and improvement; • cultural heritage protection; • ecological tourist product development; • motivating local people and improving their qualifications; • support for small vintners and viniculture. There are already 280 wine growing municipalities involved in the project who included greenway project in their development plans. In collaboration with local partners educational courses are being offered to small vintners to improve the quality of local wines, their marketing as far as preservation of the landscape and rural architecture related to winegrowing. See: www.stezky.cz. Oder River Trail (Poland) Oder River Greenway (Szlak Odry) is over 1000 network of bicycle routes, water routes, hiking and educational trails, leading through the most interesting landscapes along the Middle Oder river corridor. The backbone of the greenway is the Oder River Bicycle Trail signposted along both sides of the river, from
Olawa through Wroclaw to Kostrzyn. The greatest attractions along the trail include numerous old river beds, marshy meadows (Oder River Marshy Meadows proposed as a Natura 2000 site), historic sites and charming landscapes. The Oder River Trail has stimulated numerous local community initiatives related to ecotourism, environmental education, landscape stewardship, eco-museums and local heritage products. The trail is a good example of how greenways can contribute to using the Natura 2000 nature conservation designation to generate benefits for both nature protection and community development. The greenway links together several protected areas, including the Warta River Mouth National Park, the Krzesinski Landscape Park, the Oder broadleaved forests (proposed as Natura 2000 site) and many other nature reserves and wildlife refuges. The motivation for the greenway is to provide visitors with access to the natural habitats associated with the river and an opportunity to appreciate the importance of cultural differences along the river, which marks the Polish-German border. The trail developers have sought to use the greenway backbone to promote local attractions, including: • 16 educational trails presenting nature of the Oder River valley – old river beds, marshy meadows, river mouths, broadleaved forests, riverside meadows, bird sanctuaries (such as whooper swan, red and black kite, honey buzzard, crane, white-tailed eagle etc.), • Eco-museums presenting the history of settlement in the Oder River Valley. See: www.szlakodry.pl Greenways in Belarus Traveling through Belarus one is astounded by the picturesque rural landscapes, beautiful traditional architecture, historic villages, and the hidden places found permeated by legend and poetry, traditional folk culture, and deliciously varied cuisine, but most of all, one feels the warmth and openness of the Belarussians – a people “with spirit”. When one adds to this a quickly developing network of rural guest homes, one has an exquisite recipe for a Belarussian Greenway. Greenways in Belarus was started in 2004 by the Agro and Ecotourism Association (Общественное Объединение „Агро- и Экотуризм”) thanks to the support of the Polish Environmental Partnership Foundation through joint conferences, seminars, study tours, exchanges and publications. All these activities were translated into first eco-tourism initiatives in Belarus based on the greenways philosophy, involving a network of eco-agro tourist farms and using the skills, knowledge and enthusiasm of Association members. The first greenway in Belarus was Blue Necklace of Rossony initiated in 2005, a 200 km nature trail located in the northern part of the country (cross border area Belarus-Russia) and connecting two natural reserves: Krasnyj Bor and Sinsha. Forests are the main wealth of the region – they occupy almost 70 % of the territory and are refuges for rare wildlife, including: bear, wolf, lynx, elk, boar, otter, burrow, white-tailed eagle, golden eagle, Ural owl, wood grouse, crane, en others. Its real beauty are 200 pure lakes and rivers, the abundance of berries and mushrooms, healing herbs and rare plants (wild orchids, white water lily, northern twinflower, cloudberry). Cultural and historic attractions include sites that witnessed many historically important events, sites with living traditions (crafts, music) and places where famous writers and poets were born. The greenway consists of the main backbone linking the core sites and the local thematic loops. The core sites are main accommodation centers with ecological farmsteads. This greenway network is available for walking tours and different means of non-motorized transport, such as bicycles, kayaks, rowing boats, etc. The greenway was developed by the local partnership group including community leaders, farmers, teachers, cultural activists, staff of the forestry department, local authorities and many others. See: www.greenways.by, www.ruralbelarus.by www.greenbelarus.com
LESSONS LEARNED: GREENWAYS AND ECOTOURISM At a time when more and more local communities across the globe are struggling to maintain the uniqueness of the places they live, Greenways serve as innovative tools for enhancing quality of life, increasing opportunities for environmentally responsible tourism, and conserving fragile natural resources and cultural heritage. The Greenways concept addresses directly the principles of ecotourism expressed in the “Quebec Declaration on Ecotourism” through increasing economic and social benefits for indigenous communities, contributing to the conservation of natural resources and the cultural integrity of local communities as well as increasing awareness of visitors towards preservation of natural and cultural heritage. The focal point of the Central & Eastern European Greenways are “green corridors” – eco-trails linking different regions rich in natural and cultural heritage and building bridges between local communities in the region. Greenways link sites of natural value, including protected areas (nature reserves, landscape and national parks, Natura 2000 sites etc.) supporting nature preservation and involving local people in heritage protection, landscape stewardship etc. In principle, Greenways - natural and cultural heritage trails have four basic functions: • Sustainable transport and safety Greenways promote non-motorized forms of transport and mass transit, encourage mobility and tourism related to walking, cycling, horse-riding, boating etc. Greenways contribute to increasing road safety and sustainable transport in urban and rural areas for many different user groups, including disabled, elderly and children. • Promoting healthy lifestyles Greenways contribute to promoting healthy life-styles and improving the quality of life of local residents and visitors by encouraging active tourism, recreation and sports in the open air and in natural environments. • Development of eco-tourism and natural and cultural heritage conservation Greenways contribute to the development of different types of environmentally-friendly tourism, including creation and promotion of environmental tourist products. All tourist products promoted along Greenways share the common principle of using local potential and supporting local communities – they are created with local resources: tourist services, cultural opportunities, local products and point of sale, as well as other community initiatives. Greenways serve to support grassroots and regional initiatives aimed at cultural, natural and landscape heritage conservation. • Supporting economic and social development of communities, including enterprise development Greenways contribute to the development of local economies and encourage enterprise among local populations. Establishment of Greenways serves to initiate development of accommodation, food and guiding services. Trails promote establishment of galleries and points of sale for local products, tourism information services, sport and tourism equipment hire services etc.
CONCLUSIONS The experience of the CEG program shows that implementation of Greenways stimulates better relationships between local citizens and the environment, increases interest in heritage protection, and supports development of sustainable tourism – especially services based on wise use of local resources and community grassroots initiatives.
The Greenways concept in its essence rests on generally known approaches, such as environmental community action planning, landscape stewardship and grass-roots initiatives, sustainable tourism development, etc. Its special contribution lies in its ability to translate these theoretical principles into practical and easily understandable guidelines for application anywhere where people walk, cycle, ride, or boat, and where people care for cultural heritage and the quality of the environment. Greenways projects also present a good opportunity for demonstrating direct relationships between natural and cultural qualities, landscape preservation, sustainable use of local resources, community development, and a healthy lifestyle.
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