Sectors	Regional and territorial cooperation
EU Acquis Chapters	Other issues
EU funds	76 456 €
Implementation period	2010 - 2024
Categories	Civil society;  Climate action ;  Digital ;  Gender (Mouse hover to see significance)

The Project seeks to improve institutional infrastructure and capacities of protected areas, ecotourism business and social welfare of local communities. Specific problems to be addressed by the Project include: slow promulgation process, small size and outdated management of nature protected areas; low volume, quality and performance, poor marketing and low promotion of eco tourism in protected areas (less effective use of natural welfare together with uncontrolled tourism development); small degree of involvement of NGOs in the related activities. By improving the productivity and the competitiveness of the area’s environmental resources, the Project will stimulate regular interaction between the environmental NGOs across the cross-border region. It will also stimulate contacts between reserve managers, governmental agencies, local communities and private businesses via: exchange of know-how; selected small investments in ecotourism infrastructure, as well as possible establishment of ecotourism cross-border clusters. It will stimulate local economic development by supporting the development and improvement of ecotourism products & services; integration of cultural heritage and environment into tourism products and joint marketing of these products. Furthermore, the Project will contribute to increasing the knowledge of people working in ecotourism and agriculture and the use of ICT tools for developing and marketing ecotourism and eco-products. This action will also support awareness raising activities on environmental issues and joint actions to ensure that existing and future protected area are managed so that they can sustain the pressures of tourism development without losing their value. The overall objective of the action is: - To foster the role of the Civil Society Organisations in integrated management planning and eco tourism development in nature protected areas within the programme area (BiH-Serbia) as a tool for local and regional sustainable economies development Specific objectives of the action are: - To create an Action plan for strengthening the role of environmental NGOs in development of protected areas and sustainable tourism within the programme/border area, in line with relevant strategic documents of Serbia and B&H, related to environmental protection and tourism development. - To implement integrated natural resources management and eco tourism development practices in 2 pilot areas in line with relevant international conventions and treaties . - To create a network of protected areas and NGOs involved in eco tourism development and nature protection in programme/border area with the purpose of exchanging experience and implementing the Action plan and securing sustainabilty and follow up of the actions.

1. The Project developed an Action Plan for strengthening the role of environmental NGOs in development of protected areas and sustainable tourism within the programme area in line with relevant national strategic documents. The Action Plan is a tool for fostering the role of environmental NGOs in management and eco tourism development in protected areas within the Serbia-BiH cross-border region. The Plan was supported by the local authorities and the NGO network established during the project. 2. A network of protected areas and NGOs involved in eco tourism development and nature protection in programme/border area was established. Network of NGOs and protected areas from the Serbia-BH cross – border region includes 35 members and represents a powerful body for the cross-border cooperation on creation and implementation of joint actions aimed at eco tourism development in protected areas. A declaration signed at the Final project workshop introduces the rules of network functioning and defines benefits and obligations of the Network members which will secure smooth functioning of the Network after the project is officially finished. 3. Guidelines for integrated natural resources management and sustainable tourism development in line with relevant international conventions were drafted, printed and distributed to the target groups: NGOs, local government, SMEs and entrepreneurs dealing with accommodation and catering services on how to improve ecotourism, generate income and at the same time protect natural resources. 4. The project contributed to the increase of capacities and improved opportunities for eco-tourism development in the 2 pilot areas by developing the Business plan on the justification of investments in the reconstruction of the barracks at protected landscape Bijambare in Sarajevo Canton and developing Preliminary Design Plan of Adventure Park in Nature Monument „Sopotnica Waterfalls”.