The MONA project includes a dedicated capacity building programme for professionals involved in nature area access and visitor management. This programme aims to promote sustainable tourism in North West Europe (NWE) and ensuring that both the environment and local economies benefit from the project's outcomes.
The programme will incorporate lessons learned from MONA's pilot projects into a guidebook. This guidebook will serve as the foundation for a collaborative training programme, supporting the adoption of MONA's strategies and solutions by other nature areas in NWE. The training programme combines physical and e-learning sessions to provide a well-rounded educational experience that is both accessible and engaging.
The target audience includes regional and local tourism and mobility experts, providers, and policy makers. MONA's associated organisations, such as tourism boards and networks of nature areas, have confirmed their participation, highlighting the programme's broad appeal.
The capacity building activities are structured around three annual learning cycles. Each cycle includes three webinars and one physical meeting, co-organised with nature areas, ensuring that participants receive continuous and comprehensive training. All learning materials will be hosted on the MONA website, making them easily accessible and encouraging ongoing engagement.
To tailor the training programme to the needs of its audience MONA conducted a User Needs Assessment (UNA). This assessment identifies the priorities, knowledge, and skills gaps of the target groups, informing the detail required for the guidebook and the structure of the training programme. The guide will be validated through dedicated workshops and regularly updated to reflect new issues and methodologies from the pilot sites.
The implementation strategy includes bi-annual partner meetings to facilitate the development of joint strategies, presentations of project results and site visits. These meetings, together with regular workshops, will ensure that the guide and training materials are continually refined and remain relevant to all stakeholders.
By improving the skills and knowledge of mobility and tourism professionals, the programme aims to increase the adoption of the MONA strategy and monitoring framework by other nature areas in NWE. This will help to reduce car use, improve visitor dispersal and reduce pressure on protected areas, leading to long-term sustainability and positive impacts on both the environment and local economies.