The EUROPARC Federation Conference 2015

The EUROPARC Federation Conference 2015

 

Philip Geoghegan and Tom Byrne at the EUROPARC conference.

Regensburg, a city in the south-east of Germany and a UNESCO world heritage site, houses the headquarters of the EUROPARC Federation and was the venue for this year's EUROPARC conference. The EUROPARC Federation is a group which represents all the national parks and protected areas right across Europe with alliances around the world.

The annual EUROPARC conference is where member organisations meet to share experiences and information. The purpose of the Federation is ‘Helping Protected Areas to fulfil their role through practical activities on the ground as well as influencing policy’ and the annual conference is a two to three day programme of presentations, workshops and opportunities for networking.

Wicklow Upland Council’s membership of the Federation represents something of a hybrid within the organisation which has almost 400 members, most of which own or manage Protected Areas across Europe. The Wicklow Uplands includes protected areas, a national park, a living landscape with active farming, a unique geological structure, remarkable Stone Age remains, hugely important religious sites, a recreational playground next to a large urban population centre and a necklace of supporting towns and villages on its perimeter. Few EUROPARC members can match this diversity, although the sheer scale of some of the wilderness areas is mind-blowing.

So, what could be gained by spending a few days sharing views and perspectives with our fellow European counterparts but to broaden both our and their perceptions and knowledge. Wicklow Uplands Council was represented by Tom Byrne, Vice Chairman, a dedicated and committed farmer and Philip Geoghegan, ex-Chairman, a lifelong advocate for adequate protection and flourishing of Uplands life and landscape.

The conference was opened by the EUROPARC President Ignace Schops who spoke on ‘Protected Areas in a changing environment’ - climate change being the buzz word. Jonathan Hughes, CEO Scottish Wildlife Trust, IUCN Council, World National Capital Forum, followed with his address. He quoted the 2012 report from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN which states that ‘by 2050 agricultural production will grow by about 60% with increasing wealth projected to boost annual demand for meat products by 76%.’ Alberto Arroyo Schnell, Senior Policy Advisor with the World Wildlife Fund spoke on Protected Areas in a changing policy framework and ‘Protected Areas - the change from within’ was discussed by Dr. Laura Meagher. All presentations can be found on www.europarc.org.

The workshop attended by Tom Byrne was titled ’Seeds of Growth, Multi-functionality of Agriculture in Protected Areas’.  There was a focus on farming in protected areas and the challenge of maintaining diverse communities in these areas. Commercial farming is often at odds with protected area management and the constraints now placed on these areas make it economically unsustainable. Support is needed to farm these areas within the constraints imposed.

Philip Geoghegan noted that the potential of sustainable tourism is a key theme for protected areas which many of the EUROPARC presentations centred on. The Directorate-General for Growth at the European Commission has a ‘Guide on European Funding for the Tourism Sector (2014-2020)’ and EUROPARC has produced a LIFE+ supported guide: ‘Practical, Profitable, Protected - A starter guide to developing tourism in protected areas’ which are resources that require further attention by Wicklow Uplands Council.  The European Network on Outdoor Sports may also be of benefit.

Most of the EUROPARC member organisations bring with them very well produced brochures, booklets and guides to the nature of their area, something which Wicklow Uplands Council could emulate to our advantage.  This supports the idea of sharpening the identity of Wicklow Uplands Council as an outgoing, representative, innovative contributor to a better future for those who live and work in the uplands.  It is already an organisation which has established a national identity and has been seriously influential on many environmental and agricultural matters.  Work on establishing a stronger local presence is already under way and our own existing shared expertise could drive good capital funding towards new environmental, tourism and recreational initiatives for the area.

Philip Geoghegan also noted that BioEUParks is a group of 10 partner parks contributing their expertise on energy renewal through biomass. He recognised that Coillte is the major actor here in Wicklow but suggested that we should, really examine the further productive capacity of fuel supply in the Wicklow Uplands - cultivation of energy crops, recovery and transportation of wood wastes, forest residues, agricultural wastes, etc.  Our own Sustainable Energy Ireland could advise where new productive investment might begin.

Tom Byrne and Philip Geoghegan advised that Wicklow Uplands Council’s longstanding and continuing membership of EUROPARC is very worthwhile in letting us see how other comparable areas have succeeded in improving their local economies. We have the same opportunities to search out the supports available and our colleagues in Europe will always be helpful and take pride in showing their way of engaging and prospering at a local level and we can equally offer them the lessons learned from our experience here in Wicklow.

Authors: Tom Byrne and Philip Geoghegan, Board Directors of Wicklow Uplands Council.