The implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) often poses a challenge for regional actors in large-scale protected areas. It begins with an information deficit and often fails because of established courses of action. Large protected areas, such as biosphere reserves, national parks and nature parks, claim to be model regions for sustainable development and to contribute to the SDGs. With a learning platform and working materials, the SDG.imp partners want to support large protected areas in the future.
The project consortium with partners from Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Spain as well as with the participation of EUROPARC Federation met on 5 and 6 December at the Biosphere Folk High School St. Ingbert in the Bliesgau Biosphere Reserve for the kick-off meeting. Already the search for large-scale protected areas that support the project as associated partners highlighted their interest. This was underlined by the participation of the Bliesgau Biosphere Reserve in the kick-off meeting.
The Bliesgau Biosphere Reserve was kind enough to organise a short excursion to places of sustainable production and consumption in St. Ingbert. The project consortium visited the wood chip plant in the sustainable industrial park Drahtwerk Nord Areal, the Hofländle, where regionally produced food is sold through vending machines, and the world shop St. Ingbert, which stands for fair trade with the global south.
By the next meeting in April 2020 in Lomsa (Poland), the conceptual basis for the learning platform will be laid.
Contact persons at IfLS: Dr. Ulrich Gehrlein (gehrlein[at]ifls.de) and Christoph Mathias (mathias[at]ifls.de)
