Focusing on methods and techniques for monitoring, managing and conserving biodiversity in protected areas, the training seminar will draw on the rich experience and diverse cultural perspectives of participating protected area professionals to analyze case studies and best practices worldwide.  It will also take advantage of the unique heritage and resources available in the Majella National Park, and study tours to several protected areas in the Apennine Mountains will be scheduled, offering opportunities to interact with experts, park managers, staff and local communities.

Trainers will include European top specialists in conservation biology, protected areas management and the use of  communication, education, participation and awareness (CEPA) as vital tools to help achieve conservation objectives and halt the loss of biodiversity under the Countdown 2010 framework.

The Majella National Park and Italian Protected Areas Federation (Federparchi) are sponsoring the seminar, which is being organized in collaboration with the World Conservation Union (IUCN) via the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas' (WCPA) European Task Force on Training and the IUCN Commission on Education and Communication (CEC), and supported by Italian universities.

The seminar builds on experiences of the National Parks Service in the US in the 1980’s and recently restarted by the Universities of Montana, Idaho, Colorado, in partnership with the US Department of Agriculture-Forest Service, under the auspices  of the IUCN WCPA.

A programme planning and seminar design meeting was held in Rome, 17-20 March, attended be representatives of WCPA and CEC including Maurilio Cipparone, Violeta Orlovich and Peter Townsend.  Additional members of CEC's expert network will be invited to participate in subsequent phases of preparation, as well as in the delivery of the training seminar.

Further information will be released by the IUCN Member organization Istituto Pangea, who will be responsible for the organization of the Seminar on behalf of the sponsoring institutions.