Developing communication skills for the staff of the Protected Areas

Tirana, 12-13 March 2014

Managers of 15 national parks get prepared to carry out public information on protected areas.

The specialists and managers from 15 Protected Areas of Albania took part in a training which will enable Albanian staff to manage various tasks on promotion of national parks. The communication training was held on March 12-^th and 13-^th in Hotel "Mondial", Tirana. The experts of WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) explained at specialists of Albanian forest service how to use different communication techniques in order to extend the message of recognition and protection of the national parks. Actually Albanian managers have acquired basic skills of public communication such as: to speak with the media, working with journalists, to prepare leaflets or lead visitors group, in attempt to reveal to those publics, natural heritage and precious resources their parks hold.

Abdulla Diku, project coordinator for Dinaric Parks, Albania says "WWF believes in the passion of the people who know their park as their own home. This is the reason, we aim to enable them to use effective communication tools, in order to persuade the local community and the public that the preservation of nature protected areas brings direct benefits to them." WWF Dinaric Parks is a project committed to the preservation and promotion of a regional network of 80 national parks. In Albania, the project is being implemented by WWF Mediterranean and INCA (Institute for Nature Conservation in Albania.)

The staff of Forest Service in Albania, or as it is known in the world as "rangers" has been perceived so far as the public service in charge of controlling protected areas and ensuring their integrity from damages or perpetrators such as: fires, cutting of trees, illegal hunting of protected animals. WWF communication experts suggested that except those managing and controlling functions, Albanian forest service should respond to demands of visitors by providing in addition public information. The knowledge which has been gathered in many years by Protected Areas  staff should be shared in the future with visitors, the local community, journalists, youth groups, in a way that the message of nature conservation reaches the minds and the hearts of the Albanian public. Further qualification of Albanian staff of protected areas will continue in May and June 2014.

The experience of WWF with forest administration in Dinaric Region countries showed that public was satisfied with “informative role” of forest service and media had a positive reaction toward this new approach.