Cooperation between two French and Italian parks

Date :: 30/07/2008
Ključne besede :: Sodelovanje Francija Italija Trajnostni turizem

Located between the department of Alpes- Maritimes and the Province of Cuneo, the National Park of Mercantour and the Natural Park of Alpi Marittime have been actively cooperating since their twinning in 1987. There has been a step forward in this partnership with the project to form a European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) by the end of this year.

The year 2008 marks the end of four Interreg 3 projects: the first concerned the pursuit of a common visual identity and the restoration of the cross-border Larche/Maddalena pass. Another project addressed the edition in June 2008 of a “Common technical restoration handbook” for cross-border paths. A third, inspired by the “European Sustainable Tourism Charter”, has led to a number of actions encouraging this type of tourism with the establishment, for example, of Educ-tours*. The last project consisted of an action plan defining the modalities of future work to be carried out in common by both parks.

The epitome of this cooperation is the project to form an EGTC, the purpose of which will be to help manage European funding and to set up a strong legal structure between the two parks in order to organise and secure the continuation of actions.

As far as the 2007-2013 programming period is concerned, an ICD (Integrated Cross-border Dossier) has been submitted. It contains a number of projects such as a common biological census or the promotion of cross-border heritage, often little-known. The parks also wish to strengthen their support to agriculture-related activities, especially ”agritourism”. The development of renewable energies, “soft modes of transport” (rambling, bicycle, train) and rendering access to the parks easier for the disabled have also been put forward.

* Trips and circuits for tourism professionals to test before they are offered to the public.

Source:
“Cross-border news" Nr 42 - June/July 2008
Mission Opérationnelle Transfrontalière
http://www.espaces-transfrontaliers.eu

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