Undine II: Opening the Western Baltic sea to eco-friendly tourism

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More and more guests come to enjoy the Baltic Sea in the project region. But the visits end mostly at the surface. UNDINE II enables every visitor to get to know the fascinating underwater world anStefanie Sudhaus, Project coordinatorThe project’s goal is to increase turnover in the local tourism sector without overexploiting an important and fragile natural asset. UNDINE II established a cross-border network of 17 organisations who collaborated to establish new tour offers at Nature Information Centres and across the whole area. Environmentalists, conservationists and tourism bodies come together in the centres to provide visitors with insight into the Baltic’s underwater ecology before they enjoy their active holidays.Careful managementEverything arranged through UNDINE II is managed to balance care for the environment with visitor recreation. All project partners have agreed on all the activities. For example, a catalogue of eco-friendly diving sites will be published in 2019 to include visitor guidance notes. The aim is to ensure that the opening-up of the diving spots and their increased promotion does not lead to ecological problems.So far, 13 organisations have launched new or improved products in the area of culture or nature tourism thanks to their connection with UNDINE II. These include hosting more than 60 guided nature tours and the development of a whale-watching boat tour, which is hundreds of people enjoy every year. While the project does not close until the end of 2019, it has already helped attract an extra 2 300 visitors to the region.Raising awarenessThe project is promoting a greater understanding of the Western Baltic sea marine ecosystem. It has published guides to raise awareness of the dangers the sea faces and the need for protecting it. In addition, 200 people took part in painting competitions, which explored themes relating to the local environment and sea life.Total investment and EU fundingTotal investment for the project “UNDINE II” is EUR 1 466 654, with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 1 099 991 through the “Interreg VA Germany-Denmark” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “Sustainable Development.