ENHANCED COOPERATION ON RESPONSIBLE OUTDOOR SPORTS IN EU PROTECTED AREAS

At the EUROPARC Conference at Cairngorms NP, Scotland, a memorandum of understanding was signed between EUROPARC and ENOS, the European Network of Outdoor SportsThe objectives of this agreement are to mobilize the ENOS and EUROPARC networks to promote the practice of responsible outdoor sports in Protected Areas, minimize their environmental impact and to work on the local implementation of the ENOS Charter that EUROPARC fully endorses. IMBA Europe is part of the ENOS board and eager to contribute to all priority activities arising from this MOU.As part of the MOU, both parties recognise that:Protected Areas are the repositories of humanity’s natural and cultural heritage and a key tool to achieve biodiversity conservationOutdoor sports practiced in natural environments have a strong positive effect on practitioners’ physical and mental healthOutdoor sports strongly contributes to the role of Protected Areas as promoters of territorial socio-economic development and sustainable green jobs creationOutdoor sports practitioners should respect the environment to ensure sustainability and biodiversity conservationOutdoor sports practitioners can raise awareness on environmental issues and become good ambassadors for nature protectionAfter the signature of this agreement, a mixed Task Force composed of members from ENOS and EUROPARC to progress will be appointed and an online consultation to all members from both associations will be conducted to identify their priority lines of work for 2019. Furthermore, both parties agree, within their available human and financial resources, to work together on the  implementation of the following priority activities:Good Conduct – Promote a Charter/Code of Good Conduct in Protected Areas aimed at outdoor sports practitioners;Health – Communicate the benefits of practicing outdoor sports for global health and well-being;Trail Design –  Give guidance in order to improve trails design, whilst minimising environmental impacts and practitioners conflicts;Events – Provide advice and expertise on outdoor sports massive events organisation in Protected Areas to minimise negative impact;Carrying / Hosting Capacity – Develop the concept, share case studies, in order to provide both Protected Areas managers and Outdoor Sport Events organisers with data and tools to better estimate the carrying/hosting capacity of a Protected Area;Capacity Building – Work and make available tools to build capacity on Outdoor sports in Protected Areas and related issues