The regional agency DUNEA organized the first of four workshops for local stakeholders in the premises of the City Cultural Center in Metković as part of the COASTRUST project.
In addition to representatives of the Regional Agency DUNEA, the Public Institution for the Management of Protected Nature Areas of Dubrovnik Neretva County and external experts from Nature & Adventure, stakeholders from various institutions, including national, regional and local governance bodies, the entrepreneurial sector, the scientific and professional community, NGO-s, and the tourism sector also participated in the workshop.
After the opening, the representative of the Regional Agency DUNEA gave a presentation of the COASTRUST project to the audience, and the representative of the Public Institution for Protected Areas DNC, associated partner of the Project, presented the protected natural values of the Neretva Valley. The external expert presented the purpose and planned dynamics of workshops and the importance of the local action group.
Workshops are a key tool for involving the local community and ensuring the long-term sustainability of the proposed natural resource protection and management activities. They were designed as part of the environmental management strategy in the Neretva Valley, with the aim of developing the “Guidelines for the Conservation of Biodiversity of the Neretva Valley”, which are one of the expected results of the COASTRUST project. The guidelines are aimed at improving the management of natural resources, and at the restoration of the degraded pilot area of the Neretva valley. During the four workshops, the aim is to bring together local stakeholders, who will act as a local working group, in order to jointly identify measures for the restoration of degraded areas, improve the management of natural resources and promote the Coastal Management Agreement (“Stewardship agreement”).
During the first held workshop, those gathered actively participated in the discussion of the mentioned topics and group work, which resulted in the adoption of several constructive proposals that will be used in further work and the preparation of the previously mentioned Guidelines.
