The World Fund for Environmental Protection (WWF) began the project “Parkovi Dinarskog Luka” at the beginning of 2012 in the areas of Albania, BiH, Montenegro, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Slovenia and Serbia. The National Park Una is included in this project.
With its natural and cultural values, the Dinarski Luk is equal to the Carpathians, Alps or any other world known eco-region. Thefore, the first and main goal of this project is to create a platform of protected areas by connecting all parks in the region to the Dinarska Luka.
“We want these parks to cooperate together so that they would work better for their protected areas’’, said Leon Kebe, the project manager at WWF.
The inclusion of National Park Una in this project got the opportunity to quickly overcome the beginner’s passion and statute in this respectable tourist brand.
“National Park Una is one of the motors of regional development for Bihać and for the Una-Sana canton, and we are there to transform the natural values for a better future for the local citizens’’, said Deni Prej, the Executive Director of the Mediterranean Program of WWF.
Amarildo Mulić, the “Unin” Director, said that this national park is not only local but the pearl of Europe and that it would be a project that would become the generator for the development of the region.
The first step is to obtain a European certificate for sustainable tourism, which is necessary to fulfill a number of conditions. The award is the inclusion of Una in the network of parks map.
Every park that is certified opens up the possibility of the arrival of a large number of tourists who stay there for a longer period’’, explains Andrea Stefan, the coordinator at WWF.
Requirements are very strict. They are closely associated with the entrepreneurs and the local population and every five years there is an inspection to see if the promised investment in the park was performed, after which a certificate is renewed. Therefore, with this set the message is addressed to the authorities that the natural resources that surround us have to be preserved in order to enable sustainable development.
Photo: touristmaker
