Borjomi hosts wilderness conference

PAN Park Borjomi-Kharagauli is hosting this year’s Europe’s Wilderness Days, the annual conference of the PAN Parks Foundation which is a unique event bringing together people dedicated to European wilderness protection. The ninth conference in a row – is to be held between 4-8 September 2010 in Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park, Georgia.

The conference will have a special theme in focus: rangers for wilderness protection. The daily management of certified PAN Parks and all wilderness protected areas is a complex task requiring the contribution of the whole park staff. Rangers are one of the most important elements of a successful operation playing a key role in the protection of wilderness.

The conference will give an overview on ranger service as a cornerstone of wilderness management highlighting the duties of law enforcement, running tourism infrastructure, research and monitoring and the interpretation of messages towards visitors.
Participants can deepen their knowledge in the topics and get valuable up-to-date information from high level professionals from overseas and Europe.
Moreover, the event offers opportunity for informal expertise exchange and networking.

Topics to be covered in the 3-day conference include:
•    What needs to be done in the current and future policy framework to enforce protection of wilderness in Europe
•    Funding opportunities for wilderness conservation and tourism
•    Research opportunities and needs linked to wilderness areas
•    Tourism opportunities and interpretation of wilderness
•    Non-intervention and management: are they contradictory terms?
•    The duties of rangers in wilderness protected areas

Speakers include:
Vaughn Baker, Director, Rocky Mountains National Park, US
Dr. Mark Fisher, Research Associate, Wildland Research Institute, UK
Greg Horne, Resource Management Specialist, Parks Canada, Canada
Giorgi Khachidze, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, Georgia
Gordon Miller, Ex-President, International Ranger Federation
Martin Solar, Director of Triglav National Park, Slovenia
Ralph Swain, Regional Wilderness Program Manager, U.S. Forest Service, US

More on the host park:

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