Community Initiatives in Coastal Protected Areas

Protected areas in Lithuania cover 12 percent of entire territory. The percentage of protected areas in Poland, including Natura 2000 sites is nearly 20%. Local communities of such areas face some difficulties relating with economic activity because manufacturing is limited due to operating restrictions in the law of protected areas. It causes a contraposition of interest between local people and the law of protected areas that is characterized by regulations, restrictions and prohibitions. Coastal protected areas are especially sensitive and people have lots of interests here: recreation and tourism activities, fishing, and urbanization and etc. In order to keep local communities to operate for their own benefit according to the requirements of protected areas , it is necessary to develop instruments of environmental initiatives.
Creating of such instruments consists of a number of points:
1. Environmental education;
2. Promotion of sustainable lifestyles;
3. Nature management. Environmental education includes cognition and care of nature and natural values, also, creation of protected areas’ image and benefit for society.
Promotion of sustainable lifestyles includes sustainable farming, using sustainable building materials, transportation, water use, recreation and so on. Nature management combines conservation objectives with the economic benefits for rural communities. Local people are eager to conserve natural resources only if benefits exceed the costs of conservation, and people will conserve a resource that is linked directly to their quality of life. When a local community’s quality of life is enhanced, their efforts and commitment to ensure the future well-being in the protected area is also enhanced. Understanding that local community members can gain benefit living and working in coastal protected areas should arouse their initiatives in sustainable lifestyles and natural management.
It is very important to change the attitude of local people toward restrictions of coastal protected areas. Instead of acting against the objectives of protected areas local communities should act for their own and protected areas' benefit In this way it is possible to define 3 main objectives of the project:
1. To increase awareness and satisfaction with life in coastal protected areas;
2. Create more effective natural management of coastal protected areas involving local communities' initiatives;
3. To offer reorientation of new economic possibilities to sustainable operating. The expected result of the project will be increased awareness of the local people in coastal protected areas, the better relations with objectives of protected areas.
Also, a very important issue is that the intensified process of nature management in coastal protected areas that will increase value of natural environment. Good practice spreading process will be set through training activities (interactive training programme will be prepared and handbook will be published). Training trips with communities' and adminintraitors of protecyed areas representatives will be organized to get acquainted with success examples and problematic areas.