On Wednesday the 23rd of June IUCN Med and the MEET Network presented its work related to ecotourism governance and development, at a workshop on sustainable tourism for Maldivian Protected Areas (PA). Arnau Texidor, Programme Officer at IUCN Med and MEET Network Secretariat addressed the topic of Effective Protected Area Management in the Context of Decentralisation in the Mediterranean. The presentation addressed the situation regarding ecotourism policy and governance in 9 Mediterranean regions for managing tourism in PAs and how the DestiMED Plus project is bringing change. It also covered how sustainable tourism approaches, methods and tools, such as the MEET Model, can ensure benefits to nature conservation and local communities, whilst maintaining an attractive tourism offer for travellers.

The aim of the 5 day workshop was to raise awareness on sustainable tourism, inform protected area visitors on how they can positively contribute when visiting and to educate staff of protected areas on best practices for sustainable tourism and the tools and guidelines that are available to use.

“The Mediterranean offers a range of examples on how ecotourism is managed in protected areas, and the different integration levels between conservation and tourism policies and governance arrangements present in the region” - Arnau Teixidor, IUCN Med and MEET Network Secretariat

The workshop was a joint effort, organised by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and was launched on Monday by Maldives Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Technology Aminath Shauna.

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