Among the seven nature parks, the Sciliar-Catinaccio Nature Park is the oldest in the province of South Tyrol/Italy. On 16 September 1974, the foundation for this first nature park in South Tyrol was laid by decree of the Governor of South Tyrol. In 2003, the Sciliar Nature Park was expanded to include the Catinaccio and expanded to the Sciliar-Catinaccio Nature Park with a total area of almost 7300 hectares. Since 1995, the nature park has been part of the Europe-wide Natura 2000 protected area, which also protects biodiversity. In 2009 - as part of the Dolomites - the UNESCO World Heritage Award was added.

During a conference on 27.9.2024 on the occasion of the anniversary at the Sciliar-Catinaccio Nature Park House in Siusi, Governor Arno Kompatscher praised the decision 50 years ago to designate the area as a nature park as forward-looking and also courageous. From the initial scepticism of the farming population, the attitude towards the protected area has turned positive over the decades. The challenge is to balance the interests between protecting and using. The head of the nature park, Enrico Brutti, who has been in charge since 1993, on the other hand, called for joint ways to preserve the incomparable landscape and counter the effects of over-tourism.

Solutions for tourist use
The challenges for the future using the example of tourism were also the focus of the subsequent round table: Helmut Mitterstieler, President of Alpe di Siusi Marketing, explained the development of tourism in the nature park region. Photographer and filmmaker Matteo Agreiter spoke about the power of images. "In order for the protected areas to continue to fulfil their protection mandate, solutions are urgently needed to the sometimes escalating tourism," emphasised Guido Plassmann, Director of the Alpine Network of Protected Areas. The aim is to "get to the heart of the journey," explained tourism expert Elide Mussner, "and to reconcile economic and social needs and thus promote the common good."

Finally, Leo Hilpold, Director of the Provincial Office for Nature, explained that the homework of the EU Strategy 2030 must be done within 2030 and that the missing approximately seven percent protected area, i.e. about 40,000 hectares, in South Tyrol still has to be designated. The knowledge and experience of the past 50 years in the protected area are of great use for this purpose.

© Image: Fabio Brucculeri