One of the key objectives of the MOVING project was to create an EU multi-actor platform that could offer an open space for stakeholders to exchange, learn and interact around the topic of sustainable and resilient mountain areas.

As the project is coming to an end, we wanted to create a meaningful final event for our stakeholders, who dedicated their time, knowledge and expertise to supporting the implementation of the MOVING project in Southern Romanian Carpathians. Therefore, with the involvement and support of our partners from The James Hutton Institute, we organised a cross-country visit to the Cairngorms National Park.

During the Budapest project meeting hosted last year, we had the opportunity to learn about the different meaningful ways in which the Cairngorms National Park Authority manages and involves local communities in the area’s sustainable development. Considering that one of the main threats to the resilience and sustainability of the Southern Romanian Carpathians is the weak governance structure, we identified the learning opportunity and facilitated the cross-country visit.

We invited 5 representatives from organisations we interacted with throughout the project: Association of Ecotourism Romania, Piatra Craiului National Park, Carpathian Nature Tours eco-certified business, Retezat National Park and Hațeg Country UNESCO Global Geopark all with expertise and interest in learning more about ways for meaningful engagement with local communities, sustainable tourism and biodiversity conservation.

We started our 4 days cross-country visit with a discussion with our MOVING partners, at The James Hutton Institute headquarters. We discussed with researchers studying food self-provision in Eastern Europe and researchers contributing to empowering rural communities through European Research and Innovation projects. We then visited the Lecht Ski Centre, one of the key tourist attractions in the area and discussed the impact of climate change on winter tourism in Scotland and Romania, as well as the differences between the ‘national park’ denomination in the UK and EU. While in the EU the national parks are owned and managed by governmental structure, usually don’t include any permanent human communities and comply with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) standards, in the UK they are areas of outstanding landscape, largely privately owned and include substantial human settlements, while not complying with the IUCN standards.

The first half of the second day was dedicated to knowing and discussing with the Cairngorms National Park Authority team, who presented us the main data regarding the tourism undertaken in the park, as well as their partnership approach, which translates into collaborating with local authorities, community councils, community development trusts, third-sector organisations (charities, community groups and volunteer organisations), more than 400 business operators and landowners to achieve the Cairngorms 2030 plan. We then had the opportunity to meet and discuss with Karen Derrick, from ‘Voluntary Action in Badenoch and Strathspey’, a third-sector organisation helping people of Badenoch and Strathspey to improve their quality of life through voluntary action. Together, we approached the subject of creating meaningful, long-lasting and trustworthy partnerships with local communities.

During the second half of the day, we visited two third-sector organisations. Firstly, we went to Caberfeidh Horizons, a social enterprise working with local youth and disabled people, in order to make them feel part and contributors to their community. The volunteers are working in the bookshop, charity shop and community hub, thus they feel valued and included within their community, which alleviates isolation and loneliness. Secondly, we visited the Badenoch and Strathspey Community Connxions, a charity working to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of senior citizens, enabling them to remain independent for longer. They provide accessible transportation and social inclusion services.

During the third day, we joined our partners, The James Hutton Institute, to their final event with their stakeholders. Since the value chain they analysed within MOVING was Speyside malt whisky, we began the day with a distillery tour and then met the Scottish stakeholders. We learned about the Speyside malt whisky value chain, the work undertaken by The James Hutton Institute and the project’s results, we presented the Romanian eco-certified tourism case study and worked together with the Scottish stakeholders, exchanging experiences and knowledge on different topics.

The last day of the cross-country visit started with a visit to the Glenmore Ranger Base. Glenmore is situated in the main area of tourist interest (Cairngorm Mountain). Together with the rangers we discussed the pressure that comes along with a high number of tourists (traffic jams, insufficient parking spaces, forest fire risk) and the solutions identified and implemented by them. We got to know the Cairngorm Mountain better, by walking along the Northern Corries path and learning about local fauna and flora. We finished the cross-country visit by going to the Alzheimer Scotland Outdoor Dementia Resource Centre, the first outdoor center that enables people living with dementia and their family and carers to experience the mental and physical benefits of spending time outdoors.

With a growing elderly population choosing to live in mountain areas, we observed how the third-sector organisations focus on supporting and improving the quality of life for these inhabitants. Furthermore, tourism is an important economic activity in the area, having both a positive and a negative impact on the resilience and sustainability of the area, as well as being threatened by climate change. The Cairngorms National Park Authority focused on creating strong and long-lasting partnership, which contribute to sustainable development of the area. These are examples which are a source of inspiration for our stakeholders and can address several threats found also in Southern Romanian Carpathians: ageing population, mass tourism and weak governance structures. Furthermore, the cross-country visit enabled the creation of long-lasting relationships between the Romanian and Scottish stakeholders, which can continue long after the project ends.

In the end, we want to express our gratitude to Association of Ecotourism Romania, Piatra Craiului National Park Administration, Carpathian Nature Tours, Retezat National Park and Hațeg Country UNESCO Global Geopark for being core stakeholders for the last 4 yours and for their support in implementing the MOVING project in the Southern Romanian Carpathians.

Furthermore, our sincere thanks and appreciation to our partners at The James Hutton Institute for agreeing and supporting us in organising this cross-country visit and to all the Scottish stakeholders who took their time to meet with us.

Cătălina Rogozan, Highclere Consulting