On 23 March 2021, the DESTIMED PLUS 1st Test Assessment Meeting took place online bringing together all project and technical partners. The aim of the meeting was to share and discuss the results of the 9 Pilot Actions assessments and draft a joint summarized comprehensive assessment document.
Over the past few months, the Intermediterranean (IMC) and Islands Commissions (IC) of the CPMR have been actively involved in the audit of Corsica, which is developing an ecotourism package in the Bonifacio reserve. During the audit three main elements were examined: product quality, conservation and governance. This meeting was the occasion to share Corsica’s audit results with all the project partners and to hear any further recommendations they might have.
The second part of the meeting focused on the sustainability of the packages. Global Footprint Network and UVic presented their results of the ecological footprint and socio-economic sustainability assessment for three pilots: la Garrotxa, Porto Conte and Losinj. It was particularly interesting to see how the conclusions drawn from these two analyses did not always match. The next step then would be to complete the data collection for the remaining pilots and undertake a cross-pilot and cross-assessment analysis, i.e., considering both ecological and socio-economic aspects.
To complete the 1st test Corsica will need to pass an on-the-site check that should take place before the end of May 2021. Unfortunately, due to current restrictions in place, the CRPM-IMC/IC teams will not be able to travel and participate in person.
As a result of the meeting a draft of the summarized comprehensive assessment was initiated, and it is to be formally adopted in the days following the meeting. Upon its adoption, the Local Ecotourism Cluster (LEC) of each pilot site and their respective regional partners will start working on an improvement plan.
Furthermore, the CPMR continues to closely monitor the rest of the activities related to communication, testing and transfer, and is currently working on the development of the capitalisation strategy.
For more updates please follow the DESTIMED PLUS social media channels (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube), its website or contact flora.leroy@crpm.org.
