PAN Parks - European network of wilderness protected areas
PAN Parks can help you beat the winter blues!
It's Monday morning and you are back in the office, the days are getting shorter and wetter...now is the time to let your mind plan your next escape!
Why not escape to a PAN Park? A trip to the best of Europe’s wilderness is the perfect way to unwind. Why join the masses on a holiday to a mega resort when you can have a trip that combines some of the best nature in Europe with the personal and intimate service that only a small rural tourism provider can give. A trip to a PAN Park will provide you with special memories and friendships that will last a lifetime! Read more
Oulanka National Park shares 50th Birthday celebrations with PAN Parks
Oulanka celebrated its 50th birthday last week in international style. It played host to the major European Wilderness Days conference of PAN Parks. .
Over 100 participants from across the PAN Parks network along with travel journalists, members of the Finnish Parliament, government officials gathered in Ruka close to the park to share experiences and knowledge. The event gave participants a hands on opportunity to discuss best practice and see for themselves the range of sustainable tourism opportunities offered by Local PAN Parks Partners in Oulanka. read more
Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park , Georgia looking to PAN Parks
With the support of WWF Germany, Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park will be undergoing the PAN Parks verification process and may become the first PAN Park in the Caucausus.
In November the first verifier trip to Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park will take place. The initial pilot project to take the PAN Parks model to the Caucuses region is being discussed with WWF Germany and with the management of the Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park in central Georgia. The park is one of the largest in Europe - it covers more than 76,000 hectares of native forest and sub-alpine and alpine meadows, home to rare species of flora and fauna. As the first national park in Georgia it was created in 1995 with the support of WWF and the German government, though it has a long history of conservation that dates back over one and a half centuries to the days of the Romanoff’s. To discover more about Borjomi, visit http://www.borjomi-kharagauli-np.ge
In the News
New Finnish National Park becomes the first marine area to be certified as Best of Europe’s wilderness
Archipelago National Park in the Baltic Sea has received recognition this week of being one of the best managed wilderness areas in Europe. As a result of undergoing an intensive independent assessment of its conservation, visitor management and sustainable tourism development it received the coveted status of being a certified PAN Park. Oulanka National Park was the first Finnish national park in the PAN Parks network.
Georgian national park joins European protected areas network
Georgia’s Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park, one of Europe’s largest parks, has increased its protection status by joining the WWF-supported PAN Parks initiative.
Kure National Park in Turkey takes first steps to becoming a PAN Park
Kure Mountains National Park has taken the first steps in their plan to become the first certified PAN Park in Turkey. The letter of intent was signed by Ismail Mentes of Kure Mountain National Park and Suade Arancli from Ministry of Environment and Forestry at the Europe's Wilderness Days meeting in Finland.
