ABOUT THE PROJECT

THE PROJECT

April1, 2017, – September 30, 2018, the Lithuanian Ornithological Society, the Administration of the Dzūkija National Park and Čepkeliai State Nature Reserve and the Administration of the Biebrza National Park implemented the Project No. LT-PL-1R-056 “Natural Heritage – A Tool for Development of the Birdwatching Tourism In Dzūkija and Biebrza Valley“, funded by the European Regional Development Fund and project partners according to the Interreg V-A – Lithuania-Poland Cross-border Cooperation Programme.

Project area: the counties of Alytus, Marijampolė and Vilnius (except for the city of Vilnius), the Bialystok subregion (Poland).

The project aims at development of  birdwatching and sustainable tourism in the Dzūkija-Biebrza region through the use of natural heritage and existing local capacities. The main objective is being pursued through preservation of natural heritage and its adaptation for sustainable tourism, development of ornithological tourism contributing to the growth of tourist flows, using the existing infrastructure for ornithological tourism, and filling information and other gaps hindering nature tourism development  facilitating improvement of the region‘s local capacities and attractiveness.

The Project Partners have a clear division of their responsibilities concerning the Project activities and the  expected results. The main results will be as follows:  the number of installed or renovated infrastructure for accommodation of tourists and nature observation (camping sites, towers, nature trails), of restored natural heritage sites, of information products for nature tourists, workshops and study visits for nature tourism supporters. A very important indicator is attractive public events disseminating project results among the participants. The Project seeks to positively influence development of nature tourism in the region.

Project total Budget: EUR 958.830,11.  

Budget for activities of the Administration of the Dzūkija National Park and Čepkeliai State Nature Reserve: EUR 336.807,17   

Budget for activities of the Lithuanian Ornithological Society: EUR 314.568,90.  

Budget for activities of the Administration of the Biebrza National Park: EUR 307.454,04.  

The Project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund according to the Interreg V-A – Lithuania-Poland Cross-border Cooperation Programme (85 percent), the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Lithuania and the Project partners