Project overview
Human-Nature Interactions and Impacts of Tourist Activities on Protected Areas
Tourism in protected areas is a sensitive issue. It is sometimes hard to find the right balance between preserving these and opening them up to visitors. The HUMANITA project develops evidence-based and participatory management tools that allow regions to better monitor and evaluate the impact of tourism in protected areas. The partnership involves tourists and local communities in the development of their solutions, which helps to collect data, create more awareness and change behaviour.
2,40m €
Project Budget
80%
of the Budget is funded by ERDF
5
9
11
5
Duration
Start date
End date
Project progress
About the project
Project partnership
Project partners
Lead partner
University of Žilina
Department of Geotechnics
01026 Žilina
Project partner
Institute for Regional Development
Engineering & IT
9135 Bad Eisenkappel/Železna Kapla
Department of projects
Project department
54013 Sassalbo di Fivizzano (MS)
Department of Project Management
Roadmap
Challenge
With a growing number of visitors and visitor activities, protected areas (PA) in Central Europe (CE) experience an increase in human-nature conflicts. Recreational activities like hiking, mountain biking, or skiing, lead to various environmental impacts on physical and hydrological processes, as well as on ecology and wildlife.
Key project message
A key project message is the importance of better managing visitors today so that tomorrow’s visitors can also experience quality sites, their conservation values, and the livelihood and well-being of local communities are supported as well.
Approach
HUMANITA focuses on the joint development of new complementary tools and methods of tourists’ impact assessment based on transnational exchanges of experiences to better evaluate environmental conditions and trends, take explicit managerial responses and actions, and develop information for national and EU policymakers, and the public. The project aims to assist PA managers in CE in evidence-based and participatory management (still insufficiently present in practice), helping them put the right measures in the right places, make smarter decisions, prevent negative impacts and human-nature conflicts, and reduce risk using an incremental approach.
Joint preparation of 5 pilot actions
Site-specific analyses at 5 pilot sites outline tourism impact-related problems to be addressed in pilot actions. Partners develop a common transnational monitoring strategy and select monitoring indicators for each pilot site taking into account their policies' relevance; analytical soundness; measurability, and practical usage, with a focus on comparability among countries and jointly developed solutions.
Solutions
Partners together develop and test innovative complementary monitoring methods at pilot sites to refine and deepen their ability to detect environmental/biotic/abiotic variables utilized in monitoring, including both, instrumental and methodological approaches. Jointly developed solutions assess the impact value of different types of tourist activities on nature, and therefore provide information for the detection of changes and trends in the condition of the environment, using artificial intelligence to evaluate mutual relationships and correlations from datasets for predictions.
Participatory monitoring
The involvement of tourists and local communities in project activities, including participatory monitoring not only produces new valuable data but also brings awareness-raising, trust-building, and behavioral change. For individuals, this is a learning activity, when they can critically analyze the world around them and identify practical actions to protect the environment.
Five local action plans
For each pilot site, an action plan is developed to monitor human impacts, further engage local people and tourists in monitoring and nature protection, and properly manage human-nature conflicts while respecting the local context and legal framework.
Transnational recommendations
Partners reflect existing narratives and together create new ones for the development of the ‘common heritage’ narrative and its ability to support policymaking. Jointly developed project outputs and final recommendations are shared among relevant stakeholders, and policy makers through accompanying communication activities.
Join us!
We invite you to join us on this road and jump with us into the sphere of research and development to create a better world, a healthier and protected environment, and a brighter future.
News
P2 Green
NEWS
04.04.2024
Successful interviews conducted with stakeholders of CEEweb and Bükk National Park Directorate
CEEweb for Biodiversity and Bükk National Park Directorate (BNPD) organised interviews with their most important stakeholders on their pilot sites. All interviewees agree in the fact that the level of tourism in the area has increased at least slightly at the pilot sites at Bükk National Park and Mátra Mountains.
P2 Green
NEWS
29.02.2024
HUMANITA’s Transnational monitoring strategy
HUMANITA project partner Carinthia University of Applied Sciences developed the Transnational monitoring strategy, proposing a framework for the development, testing, and evaluation of a monitoring system that supports visitor management activities of pilot sites within the project HUMANITA.
P2 Green
NEWS
28.02.2024
Exploring tourists’ perspectives on nature and protected areas: what is HUMANITA’s work telling us?
Our project partner Institute for Regional Development - Eurac Research is currently exploring tourists' perspectives on nature and protected areas. Overall, the aggregate data shows that the visit of a natural environment is somehow conditioned by the presence of wildlife, and by man’s awareness of its presence. A rather narrow ...
P2 Green
NEWS
10.01.2024
Estimating soil erosion rates along trails by means of tree root analysis
At the Pietra di Bismantova pilot site, the University of Parma has adopted an approach for estimating soil erosion by coupling tree root analysis and a high-resolution digital elevation model acquired through photogrammetry and laser scanning.
P2 Green
NEWS
07.12.2023
Expert council meeting in Karawanken-Karavanke UNESCO Global Geopark
HUMANITA project was presented to the Expert Council in the Karawanken/Karavanke UNESCO Global Geopark. Participants discussed key points of the project, its tasks, and activities. EGTC Geopark presented an analysis of visitors' impact on nature in the pilot area and suggestions for future activities and visitors' control and management.
P2 Green
NEWS
01.12.2023
Site-specific analyses at pilot sites are ongoing
When preparing the analyses of the environmental impacts of tourism at pilot sites partners use existing data to find areas of conflicts and tourist hotspots that are highly frequently visited and intersect sensible areas. The aim of the analyses is also to summarize the main tourist activities and challenges ...
P2 Green
NEWS
20.11.2023
eDNA sampling in the Karawanken-Karavanke UNESCO Global Geopark
Experts and interns from the Carinthia University of Applied Sciences collected eDNA soil samples from shoe and tyre profiles from hikers and mountain bikers in the Karawanken-Karavanke UNESCO Global Geopark. This pilot activity aims to analyse the impact of tourists in the spread of invasive plant species.
P2 Green
NEWS
20.11.2023
Release of HUMANITA Report on Monitoring Tourism’s Environmental Impacts in Protected Areas
After months of focused work in the Interreg CE HUMANITA project, we're excited to unveil our inaugural publication – the " Report on good-practice examples to monitor environmental impacts of tourism inside protected areas".
P2 Green
NEWS
04.10.2023
Monitoring Tourist Impact in Malá Fatra National Park
Soil mites are small but very important in soil ecosystems contributing directly or indirectly to soil processes, including nutrient cycling, and soil formation. HUMANITA will test the hypothesis that increased erosion on hiking trails caused by tourists, that leads to changes in the abundance and diversity of soil mite ...
P2 Green
NEWS
30.09.2023
Study visit in Kamenjak
Experts from the University of Žilina and the University of Parma met in September in Croatia to exchange good practice on remote monitoring. This visit aimed to allow participants to share their knowledge and compare experiences. Public institution Kamenjak obtained new data about the protected area for further analysis.
P2 Green
NEWS
30.04.2023
HUMANITA project started on April 1, 2023
Increased demand and interest in outdoor activities are great opportunities, but also challenges for each protected area (PA) to meet visitors’ expectations, but also to protect natural values. Based on this identified problem, the project "Human-Nature Interactions and Impacts of Tourist Activities on Protected Areas – HUMANITA” was created, ...
Events
P2 Green
EVENT
Slovakia
18 - 19.10.2023
HUMANITA’s 2nd Project meeting in Žilina
From October 18 to October 19 2023, HUMANITA's second partner meeting was organised in person by the University of Žilina, which included also a study visit to Malá Fatra National Park in Slovakia. A productive partner meeting was held, where partners discussed in detail ongoing and upcoming project activities. ...
P2 Green
EVENT
29.06.2023
The good-practice workshop for “Monitoring visitors and their impacts on the environment”
The workshop organized by HUMANITA consortium shed light on the monitoring of the spatial-temporal behavior of visitors and explored novel technologies to monitor their impacts on the well-being of the natural environment. Eight good practice owners were chosen who shared their experience in the monitoring of visitors or in ...
P2 Green
EVENT
Hungary
17 - 19.04.2023
HUMANITA’s kick-off meeting in Bukkszentkereszt
After much time, effort, preparation and passion dedicated to safeguarding the environment while contributing to ensuring a smart and responsible tourism and long-term sustainable development, HUMANITA project officially kick-started with its first consortium and kick-off meeting on 17 -19 April 2023 in Bukkszentkereszt in Hungary.
Pilot actions
Outputs
O1.1. Jointly developed transnational monitoring strategy
O2.1. Jointly developed pilot actions testing new innovative monitoring methods and approaches
O2.2. Jointly developed solutions assessing the impact value of different types of tourist activities on nature
O3.1. Local action plans to monitor and resolve human-nature conflicts in pilot sites
Project videos
Project documents
HUMANITA presentation materials
HUMANITA newsletters
HUMANITA research materials
HUMANITA
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