Major conference celebrates 50th anniversary of National Parks

11 June 1999

The challenges facing National Parks over the next 50 years will be discussed at a major conference in Snowdonia to celebrate the 50th birthday of National Parks to be held on June 25 - 27.  The conference has been organised by the national charity, the Council for National Parks (CNP), and is supported by National Grid, a member of the Corporate Forum for National Parks.

During the conference, CNP President, the mountaineer Sir Chris Bonington, will be setting out CNP's vision for National Parks for the next fifty years, while National Grid's Director of Corporate Affairs, Margaret Stewart, will be launching the company's new statement of commitment to National Parks.

Sir Chris Bonington, CNP President and mountaineer says: "This conference, which brings together National Park interests throughout the UK, will demonstrate the great benefits in ensuring our beautiful National Parks are protected and enhanced for all to enjoy, for the next 50 years".

Judy Ling Wong, Director of the Black Environment Network says "National Parks have a vital role in helping ethnic groups to enjoy and understand the countryside".

Eva Pongratz, Director of the Europarc Federation, says "British National Parks are very important in an international context and transcend political and administrative boundaries.  The Government should continue to given them the highest possible protection in law".

Leading Welsh academic Professor Gareth Wyn Jones says "National Parks can act as 'greenprints' for the rest of the countryside, by delivering economic benefits to local people as well as fulfilling their traditional role.  Partly this can be achieved by supporting the role of farmers as stewards of our landscape and wildlife heritage but it also requires that new ways are found for co-operating with the communities around the Parks that act as 'gateways' to the Parks".

Paul Loveluck, Chief Executive of the Countryside Council for Wales, says "The ongoing challenge for National Park Authorities is to reconcile the legitimate interests of local residents with the equally legitimate national interests of visitors ".

Conference delegates will include National Park Authorities, voluntary organisations, statutory bodies, companies and individual experts.  They will attend a number of workshops led by experts from all over the UK that will focus on involving key stakeholders in National Parks.

Delegates will also have the choice of a number of field trips which will examine particular aspects of National Park life, including a working farm in the Nant Gwynant Valley and the area of Snowdon Summit that is now owned by the National Trust.

For press queries please contact:
Ruth Chambers, Head of Policy on
020 7924 4077 ext. 222