The final workshop within the international project “Sustainable management and tourist promotion of natural and archaeological heritage in the Adriatic Caves PLUS – Adriaticaves PLUS” was held on 18 May in the premises of the Information and Education Center in Bijambare. The workshop was attended by representatives of the Environmental Protection Fund of FBiH; the Ministry of Communal Economy, Infrastructure, Physical Planning, Construction and Environmental Protection of Canton Sarajevo; Ilijaš Municipality; the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine; University of Sarajevo and many other institutions and NGOs.
The main goal of the project is the establishment and promotion of natural and archaeological heritage in the caves of ADRION as a year-round tourist product. The project is aimed at sustainable development of accessible caves, which includes ecotourism, the establishment of a network of tourist caves, as well as the preservation of karst areas and other caves that are not open to the public, and are marked NATURA 2000 habitat 8310 (92/43/EEC directive).
The project addresses the issue of managing tourist visits in order to avoid negative impacts on protected habitats and species, including activities to assess the impact of tourists and the carrying capacity of caves.
In addition to promoting the natural and archaeological heritage in the caves of the ADRION region as a tourist product, the focus of the workshop was on exchanging experiences and knowledge on sustainable development of caves through the promotion of speleotourism and establishing a network of tourist caves.