An innovative approach for the management of tourism impacts in protected areas was introduced to PONT by the NGO Build Green Group.
Through an 18-month grant it is envisaged protected area authorities and local communities will be assisted in promoting, and at the same time, controlling the eco-tourism activities in their own territories.
The grant aims to facilitate meaningful and effective participation of stakeholders in adaptive management of protected areas. Build Green Group will assist stakeholders in identifying, understanding, and documenting the location, extent, and severity of threats to major values of protected areas with a focus on sustainable tourism. Actions will be implemented in selected pilot settlements within the protected areas of Mavrovo National Park, the Korab-Koritnik Nature Park, and the Albanian Alps National Park. Standardized monitoring systems and an online Geographic Information System (GIS) platform will be created, tested, and piloted.