On March 12th 2021, the ADRION Project called ADRIATICAVES hosted its final conference. The project involves different partners coming from 6 nationalities: the Maiella National Park (Italy), lead partner, the Regional Council of Shkodra (Albania), the Cantonal Public Institution for Protected Natural Areas (Bosnia and Herzegovina), the Velebit Nature Park Public Institution (Croatia), the Authority for the Management of Parks and Biodiversity – Romagna (Italy), the company TC Grotta di Lipa ldt (Montenegro), and the City of Čačak (Serbia).
The project aim was to promote sustainable management practices for the enhancement and conservation of the natural and archaeological heritage of caves in the Adriatic area. The major outputs concerned the following 3 fields:
1) the creation of an international Adriaticaves brand for “minor” and sustainable speleological tourism to be used as an engine for the tourist development of the ADRION area;
2) the Charter of the Caves, an international agreement signed by cave operators, with a discipline aimed at guaranteeing sustainable tourism in the caves managed by them;
3) an international Action Plan, drawn up in compliance with the Habitat Directive (92/43/EEC), to ensure the conservation of the habitat 8310 “Caves not open to the public” and at the same time to guarantee that tourist activities comply with European legislation, without neglecting to improve cave accessibility.
During the event, the APPRODI Project was also invited to present to all the final conference participants its main results and achievements. To represent the APPRODI Project, there was a representative from the University of Teramo (Approdi’s lead partner).
For further information about the final conference, the recording of the event is available at the following link Final International Conference Adiaticaves 12 March 2021 – Afternoon – – YouTube