PREVIOUS EXPERIENCES

THE PROGRAMME IN 2001

- Actors Talk: 

- Download de Exchange Programme 2001 in PDF format.
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ACTORS TALK:

"I regard my participation in the exchange programme as a rare and favourable opportunity to share an experience in another country in the field of the eco-development of protected areas (such as El Feija National Park). It was indeed an opportunity to take away new ideas which I would like to turn into micro-projects which could be done by our association in the province of Chefchaouen. That is scheduled in the future Talassemtane Park, which has certain features in common with El Feija National Park (...) I hope to improve our intervention programme at educational centers by formulating a carefully studied project on environmental education with the help of the dossier on environmental education in the forest region of El Feija which I took away with me and which I will try to adapt to our region."

"Dear Luis and Marc I would like to thank you very, very much for the exchange for our members on the afforestation in Madrid. All three members came back very pleased and motivated with many new ideas that can be adapted locally.

I can not but not thank you for the attention and support given. This exchange has been very fruitful. I am so please with the outcome that I would like to ask if there will be similar events next year both in afforestation and in Marine Protected Area management.

Nature Trust has just signed agreements with the Government for afforestation projects and marine protected Areas. Thank you so much and very best Regards Vincent (President Nature Trust)"

(Members of Nature Trust, from Malta, exchanged with WWF - Spain Alto Tajo project)

"I guess that the most important thing that I saw in Barcelona was the cooperation between the Diputació and the local councils in preserving the landscape around the city. In spite of the conflicts and the disagreements there is a functioning mechanism that has succeeded so far to keep and maintain significant open spaces within the metropolitan boundaries (...) Many people that I work with are very interested in the development and conservation activities in Barcelona. Therefore I would like to ask you for the Digital Atlas of Barcelona, which will allow us to prepare better presentations of the activities around the city"

	(Uri Ramon from SPNI, Israel, participated in an exchange on preserving urban open spaces with Diputació de Barcelona.)
Uri Ramon (Right) exchanging information with a staff member of Diputació de Barcelona.

Working for more than 20 years on sustainable development in Mértola, ADPM has developed in many fields, a range of actions for and with the local community, to improve their life conditions, promoting initiatives that can reconcile economic development with nature conservation.

Although we have succeeded in some fields it’s very difficult to involve the communities in this work, principally because Mértola is a very depressed area. In this difficult context we need always to find new solutions to go on following our aims, but often the lack of human and material resources and the difficult access to worthwhile experiences and model practices, difficult even more this process, and some times we aren’t able to choose the best way (efficient strategies) to put in practice our objectives.

With the participation in the exchange programme the first feeling we had was: "We aren’t alone in this process! There are NGOs who face the same problems..." Sharing with them strategies and methodologies adopted, successful and unsuccessful experiences, gave us the possibility to reflect some issues and redefine some strategies for the future, principally in what concerns to the good and efficient application of the 3rd funds programme of the European Union.

With Cogecstre we learnt more about the ability to combine environmental protection and awareness with the promotion of local employment. In summary we saw how it’s possible to diversify a NGO activity in a large range of work fields, that by themselves ,generate employment and are self sustainable and simultaneously, all together , contribute to nature conservation. In the Orbetello Lagoon Nature Reserve, we learn new environmental education methodologies and activities, and also good practises to maintain a self sustainable education centre. These learning will certainly improve our work in Monte do Vento Environmental Education Centre.

For us was very gratifying to had 4 NGOs visiting us...We hope to have also helped them to improve their work, and we are looking forward to establish future collaborations in what concerns not only activities that will continue to promote the exchange of experiences but also in building partnerships to develop common projects and to solve common problems."

(Mariana Oliveira, ADPM)
Mariana Oliveira learning some techniques in the studio-factory of Cogecstre

"Our participation in the Exchanges Programme as hosts, with guests from Portugal, Morocco and Tunisia, involved all sectors of the cooperative. The experience allowed us not only to present our own point of view but also to learn about those of our guests. We gained a real broadening of our perspective and a concrete exchange of ideas, opening up the possibility of cooperating on conservation, research and sustainable development projects in the future. Cogecstre and Alisei, as guests of ADPM in Portugal, further developed this exchange. Those of us lucky enough to have visited ADPM were impressed by the organisation, hospitality and professional approach of the team. We wholeheartedly support the ATW exchanges programme and are eager to see it continue well into the future."

	(Fausta Crescia, Cooperativa Cogecstre)
Representatives of NGOs from Tunis and Italy attending a workshop run by ADPM