UNESCO – INTEWO

Third UNESCO Award for INTEWO project

2015/02/022016/11/26 INTEWO English News, News Award, ESD, GPS Adventure Park, UNESCO

The GPS-Adventure Park in the Teutoburger Forest / Eggegebirge Nature Park, the GPS-trails of the Lippe district, the Nature Trails at the Externsteine monument, the “Exquisite Nature” in the Höxter district as well as the Muscat Geotourism Guide have been awarded (again) as an official project of the UN Decade “Education for Sustainable Development 2005-2014” (ESD).

Having been awarded in 2008/2009 and 2011/2012, the GPS Adventure Park concept is receiving this prestigious UNESCO award again, following a successful application by the project partners. “Receiving this award for the third time shows that we are on the right track” says the Head of the Lippe district Friedel Heuwinkel.

“Being awarded, again, is a great appreciation and motivation to continue with future innovative features of the project” said Henning Schwarze, project initiator and Managing Partner at INTEWO. The new UN award documents the success and the continued development of the project. In recent months, new applications for the Android and iOS operating systems were published and a new project website had been developed. “With support of innovative applications and with the introduction of new media, we can promote our points if interests and attractions even better” adds Günter Weigel, Executive Board Lippe Tourism & Marketing AG.

The United Nations had proclaimed the goal for the ESD Decade “to anchor the principles of sustainable development in all areas of education.” The GPS Adventure Park is using innovative features to motivate in particular a younger audience to learn more about nature and culture.

Lake Tana Biosphere Reserve

2012/09/132016/11/26 INTEWO English News, News Biosphere Reserve, Ethiopia, Lake Tana, UNESCO

A feasibility study towards the establishment of a Biosphere Reserve at Laka Tana, Ethiopia, has been published in the series ‘BfN-Skripten’ by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, Germany.

In 2005 the INTEWO | World Habitat Society GmbH published a summary report, which was introducing the concept of a Biosphere Reserve in Ethiopia’s Lake Tana region. In 2007 this idea of a UNESCO protected area at the source of the Blue Nile River found support in a study conducted by scientists from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). Recently the Michael Succow Fundation for the Protection of Nature published a detailed feasibility study for a Biosphere Reserve at Lake Tana. The study is serving as baseline information for further action, public relations and awareness towards a Biosphere Reserve.

Lake Tana, Ethiopia’s largest lake, is a most important fresh water contributor to the Nile River, an important bird area and a hotspot for biodiversity in the country. Located in one of the fastest developing regions in East Africa, the Lake Tana area and adjacent regions are hosting a unique cultural heritage, documented with several inscriptions in the World Heritage list. The designation of a Biosphere Reserve in the region will contribute to sustainable growth in this dynamic part of the Horn of Africa, with new sources of income for the local population, promoting the increase of environmentally considerate tourism plus serving the urgent implementation of nature conservation and protected areas.

The feasibility study for a Biosphere Reserve at Lake Tana and additional project information are available on the Michael Succow foundation’s webpage.

INTEWO is working in the Lake Tana region since 2004, providing services in the field of sustainable tourism development and education, with a representative office in the regional capital Bahir Dar.

Corvey Castle ties with Oman

2012/07/022016/11/26 INTEWO English News, News Eastern Westphalia-Lippe, Education, Nature Park Teutoburger Forest / Eggegebirge, Oman, UNESCO, World Heritage

Tourism students from Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) visited the Corvey Abbey and Castle in the Höxter District, Germany.

In the context of their summer training in Germany, students from the Tourism Department at SQU, Oman, visited the Corvey Abbey and Castle in Höxter. The Castle of Corvey, lying on the River Weser, was founded in the 9th century as a Benedictine monastery. Currently a regional initiative is working towards listing Corvey as a Cultural World Heritage Site with UNESCO.

To follow up with the field visit to the castle, the SQU students, which undergo a six weeks tourism and sustainable development training in the Nature Park Teutoburger Wald / Eggegebirge, has to work out a proposal for the potential twinning of the Corvey Castle with the Bahla Fort, a World Heritage Site in Oman.

Twinning of World Heritage Sites in Germany and Oman is one of the activities of a formal cooperation between governmental and non-governmental organizations in Germany and Oman. The cooperation is entitled “Tourism and education for sustainable development” and was officially inaugurated in 2010, in the UN Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures.

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