In the period from 12 to 16 September, the employees of the Cantonal Public Institution for Protected Natural Areas participated in a study trip to Slovenia and Austria, as part of the project “Sustainability of protected areas – SPA” funded by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The program of the study trip was based on a number of thematic areas, including the financing of protected areas in Europe, innovative financial mechanisms for nature protection, consideration of the potential for the implementation of presented solutions in the management of protected areas in BiH, the promotion of business opportunities and the financial potential of protected areas, defining tourist packages of protected areas and strengthening human capacity in the tourism sector, promotion, financial management and networking.
During the visit, the participants had the opportunity to learn about the management of protected areas in neighboring countries (Croatia, Slovenia, Austria), with special reference to innovative financial mechanisms and business planning strategies for nature protection.
Experiences and lessons learned from protected areas on these topics were presented by representatives of the Nature Park “Dobratch”, Villach (Austria), the National Park “Kalkalpen” (Austria), the Protected Areas of the Virovitica-Podravine County (Croatia), the National Park “Triglav” (Slovenia), and Nature Park “Sečoveljska soline” (Slovenia).