Lahemaa National Park 55

Lahemaa National Park celebrates it's 55th birthday and hosts an international conference "National Parks, Local Communities and Collaboration", which takes place on May 21-22, 2026 at Palmse manor.

Conference is in English language. Tickets (12 euros) can be bought from Fienta.

Thursday, May 21

7.30                    Birdwatching Walk in Palmse manor park with Peep Veedla (EST)

9.00-9.30          Gathering and coffee

9.30-9.50          Introduction. Reimo Mürgimäe and Raido Roostalu (Visit Lahemaa)

Greetings. Ministry of Climate, Environmental Board of Estonia

9.50-10.10        National Park Collaboration in Estonia and the Baltics: A Historical Perspective.

Teet Koitjärv (Former Deputy Director of Lahemaa National Park)

10.10-10.55      Panel: Local Communities and Collaboration in Baltic National Parks

                             Nele Sõber, Aivar Ruukel – Estonia

                             Sigita Klētniece, Agnese Balandiņa – Latvia

                             Giedrė Šukytė, Ieva Šimkūnė – Lithuania

10.55-11.15      Satisfaction, Attractiveness, and Image: A Multi-Perspective Analysis of National Parks in the Baltics.

Marcus Bauer (respontour - Communication Consulting)

11.15-11.45     Coffee break

11.45-12.30     Keynote. S for Sustainable, S for Support, T for Tourism, T for Trust - 

Local Stakeholders' Role Building up a More Resilient Community.

Paulo Castro (EUROPARC)

12.30-12.50      The Value of Collaboration in National Parks: How to Earn More, Create Greater Value Together and Maximize Visitor Experience.

Tarmo Pilving (Estonian University of Life Sciences)

12.50-13.10      Adaptive Co-Management in Practice: Community-Led Tourism Collaboration in Lahemaa National Park.

Kaisa Linno (Estonian University of Life Sciences)

13.10-13.30     Heritage Based Climate Action and Rights of Heritage Communities.

Ave Paulus (ICOMOS)

13.30-14.00     Water-themed Science Show by Science Centre AHHAA

14.00-15.00     Lunch

15.00-15.30      River Restoration Case Studies:

The Drava (Slovenia). Marcela Slekovec (LAS Bogatstvo Požela)

The Vjosa (Albania).  Adela Barja (Vjosa River National Park)

15.30-16.00     Nature-based Solutions for the Restoration of River Ecosystems.

Vallo Kõrgmaa (Estonian Environmental Research Centre)

16.00-16.45     Interactive Workshops:

1. Heritage Adapts - Empowering Heritage Communities in Climate Action From Global Policies to Local Actions – Ave Paulus

2. Planning Activities for Enhancing Regional Impact Through Collaboration of Baltic National Parks – Aivar Ruukel

3. Hands-on: Building Floating Islands for Healthier Waters - Vallo Kõrgmaa

16.45-17.00     Summaries of the Workshops and Concluding Remarks

17.30-18.30      Signing of the Baltic National Parks Tourism Collaboration Agreement. Europarc Certificates Ceremony.

Concert by Local Choirs

Friday, May 22

Post-conference Tour in Kolga

Organisers: Lahemaa Tourism Association, Environmental Board of Estonia, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Ministry of Climate, Virumaa DMO
Co-funded by: European Union