Development of an exemplary European Beech Forest Quality Standard and Certification System
Within this workpackage an exemplary European Beech Forest Quality Standard and Certification System will be developed that is applicable also to further component parts of the WH site and valuable beech forest areas in Europe. The elaboration of the Quality Standard and Certification System includes as outputs:
- A study on available management quality standards in conservation
- A study on potentials and requirements for an improved management quality in the surrounding of the participating protected areas
- A handbook including criteria and indicators for evaluating the conservation status and management quality of beech forest areas.
Furthermore the handbook is meant to support the fulfillment of the reporting requirements of the WH site to UNESCO. By the development of this joint Quality Standard and Certification System the project contributes to the specific objectives as it aims at catalyzing a better overall management (including buffer zone management) and its contribution to regional sustainable development by relevant public authorities and stakeholders as well as at reinforcing collaboration and exchange across sites and regions. Furthermore the evaluation and certification system is aiming at motivating public authorities and stakeholders for active participation in improving the management quality of the beech forests.
These objectives will be reached by the involvement of all partners in analysing actually available and applied management quality standards in the conservation sector, interviews in the target areas about potentials and requirements for good management quality as well as workshops with experts related to the European Beech Forest Network for comparing actual monitoring systems and elaborating transparent and comparable criteria and indicators applicable to all component parts of the WH site and further valuable beech forest areas in Europe.
