GREENHEALTH

GREENHEALTH Project aims to make EU regions more biodiversity-resilient by improving the management of European protected areas through strengthening links and strategic and operational collaboration between biodiversity protection and human health and well-being.
Project partnership is composed of seven organisations covering European areas with different levels of development: Murcia (ES), Podkarpackie (PL), Dubrovnik-Neretva (HR), Northern & Western Regional Assembly (IE), Prešov (SK), Scania (SE) as well as EUROPARC Federation (DE) who will act as advisory partner.
Protected areas in EU represent a fundamental tool for nature and biodiversity conservation and provide multiple benefits in ecosystem services. At the same time, it is also proven that the COVID pandemic has further emphasised the relevance of natural spaces for human well-being, which has led to an increased number of visitors to protected areas. This has positive impacts for protected areas due to people revaluing them but could pose a risk to biodiversity if public use is not properly managed. Therefore, it is urgent to improve public policies dealing with protected areas, adapting their management to achieve resilient spaces that are accessible for the improvement of all European citizens' well-being, but without compromising their environmental objectives.