Joint workshop on the future of N2K

In the course of a new project, E.C.O. gets deeply involved into the topic of the management of Natura 2000 sites in Styria. Our staff is in charge of moderating and coordinating a number of workshops and meetings with various stakeholders in order to reorganize and improve the management system of all 41 Styrian Natura 2000 sites.

In early August E.C.O. designed and moderated a large workshop with around 40 participants with most different professional backgrounds from all across Austria in order to elaborate and discuss the issue of Natura 2000 in Styria. Representatives from the State Government and from the Styrian umbrella organization for nature parks (Naturparke Steiermark), various stakeholders and interest groups, colleagues of other Federal states, managers of nature parks and Natura 2000 sites as well as experts and representatives of private companies involved in Natura 2000 issues shared their ideas and discussed a vision for the future and the development potential of Natura 2000 sites in Styria.

The design of a front cover and a possible future headline regarding Natura 2000 was the first task of the creative part of the workshop. The participants elaborated a number of interesting and inspiring art works and slogans, which perfectly illustrated their wishes and fears regarding the implementation and management of the Natura 2000 network. Subsequently, by means of the participatory method “World Cafe”, the participants discussed various topics in small groups.

The valuable results of this workshop generate a very positive picture of the future of Natura 2000 sites in Styria and provide a valuable and trend-setting contribution to the reorganization of the Styrian system for managing Natura 2000 sites.