Promoting Sustainable Tourism in Multi-dimensional Protected Areas

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

BACKGROUND

Schinias, in Marathon, Greece, is an internationally important ecological and cultural area that attracts more than a million visitors each year. With the new Rowing Centre, which was constructed for the 2004 Olympic Games, and the newly formed Marathon National Park, the number of visitors and the pressure on the area's natural resources are expected to greatly increase.

OBJECTIVES

The objective of the project was to promote sustainable tourism and accessibility to the Marathon National Park, a multidimensional protected area of historic, cultural and natural heritage. An integral part of the project was the promotion of environmental awareness and the improvement of disabled access. The main goals of the project were to:

Reduce the environmental impacts through the development and implementation of Sustainable Tourism action plans;

Improve the environmental performance of all park activities by implementing EMAS through the use of an electronic model

Increase the accessibility of natural, cultural, historic and recreational attractions to the disabled;

Promote environmental awareness and accessibility at European level;

Encourage visitors (over 1 million per year) to alter their behaviour in line with sustainability issues.

RESULTS

The GreenMarathon project took some steps towards transforming the Schinias Marathon National Park into a model park for the Greek standards, by implementing an Environmental Management and Audit System (EMAS. At first an environmental review describing the activities that take place in the Marathon National Park and the relevant environmental aspects and impacts was undertaken.

Achievements of the project included the following:

Development of an electronic management tool to support the implementation of EMAS;

Creation of a guide containing procedures and monitoring indicators;

Study and planning of sustainable waste management and sustainable transportation management;

Identification of relevant measures and conduction of preparatory actions in both areas.

Preparation of guides on sustainable waste management and sustainable transportation and their distribution to the local inhabitants and park visitors. Site visits to other parks were also conducted by the partners.

Special attention was given to making the park accessible to physically impaired people, primarily those with visual and movement problems. Two of the seven pathways that are suitable for people in wheelchairs were identified and appropriately marked. An audio tour was developed for visually impaired people. Special signs (with coloured codes) were put up.

The project was monitored through a set of three questionnaires targeting residents, visitors and partners, as well as through sets of performance indicators. The project was terminated by the Commission before its originally foreseen end as it became apparent that it would not achieve all of its originally planned objectives due to opposition from local inhabitants and politicians. In the end the project only achieved partial results.

Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report and After-LIFE Communication Plan (see "Read more" section).The GreenMarathon project took some steps towards transforming the Schinias Marathon National Park into a model park for the Greek standards, by implementing an Environmental Management and Audit System (EMAS. At first an environmental review describing the activities that take place in the Marathon National Park and the relevant environmental aspects and impacts was undertaken.

Achievements of the project included the following:

Development of an electronic management tool to support the implementation of EMAS;

Creation of a guide containing procedures and monitoring indicators;

Study and planning of sustainable waste management and sustainable transportation management;

Identification of relevant measures and conduction of preparatory actions in both areas.

Preparation of guides on sustainable waste management and sustainable transportation and their distribution to the local inhabitants and park visitors. Site visits to other parks were also conducted by the partners.

Special attention was given to making the park accessible to physically impaired people, primarily those with visual and movement problems. Two of the seven pathways that are suitable for people in wheelchairs were identified and appropriately marked. An audio tour was developed for visually impaired people. Special signs (with coloured codes) were put up.

The project was monitored through a set of three questionnaires targeting residents, visitors and partners, as well as through sets of performance indicators. The project was terminated by the Commission before its originally foreseen end as it became apparent that it would not achieve all of its originally planned objectives due to opposition from local inhabitants and politicians. In the end the project only achieved partial results.

Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report and After-LIFE Communication Plan (see "Read more" section).