From September 10th to 12th, 2024, the Karawanken-Karavanke UNESCO Global Geopark (Austria/Slovenia) proudly hosted the 4th project meeting.
The partner meeting took place at the visitor centre, Geo.Dom, located at the pilot site on Petzen/Peca Mountain. During the meeting, the HUMANITA project partners discussed and resolved various topics related to human versus nature conflicts, including the impact of tourism on protected areas. The discussions also focused on activites of Work packages 2 and 3, especially the development of relational database and data collection, innovative methods for upcoming activities in the frame of Green Academy and development of ‘common heritage’ narratives, intoductory workshop at PA’s, progress made so far, and concrete plans and activities for the future to promote visitor-friendly approaches and nature conservation. Each partner also presented the activities carried out so far in the pilot areas.
On the first day, partners also went to a short hike to show project partners our monitoring activities in the pilot area of Petzen/Peca Mountain and held an introductory workshop to engage the public and stakeholders in observing invasive alien species in the Geopark through citizen science.
On the final day, 12th of September, partners embarked on an excursion – a guided tour of Podzemlje Pece (Peca Underground), including a bicycle trip through the tourist mine.
Photo: Urosh Grabner Photos | Balázs Megyeri | Geopark archive