To make a long-term sustainability plan, and to develop its bird-watching tourism business, the muncipality of Kökar has been granted 105,000 euro respectively 270,000 euro from the Interreg ”Central Baltic” program.

Much inspired by the Danish islands Omø (En dynamisk Handlingsplan for Omø 2010-2015) and Tunø (Utviklingsplan Tunø i balance 2011-2020), the Kökar plan will cover the next ten years.

The development of bird-watching includes towers, pathways, maps, guide training and a bird watching centre, which in a future project might be extended to include star-gazing, the seas surrounding Kökar, and its bedrock. Islanders have deep knowledge about birds but are mostly concerned with the ones you can eat, while ornithologists also like tits, wood-peckers and eagles. There even is a book called “The Birds’ Kökar” by Ari Linna. It is one of the project’s objectives to merge these two areas of bird-lore.

Let’s continue to learn from each other in our island network ESIN and to make the best use of Interreg possibilities which we can all be experts on using their online courses in January and February 2018, see https://www.interregeurope.eu/news-and-events/news/2272/fourth-call-to-be-launched-in-april-2018/?utm_source=Interreg+Europe+newsletter&utm_campaign=74d7f54edb-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_newsletter_2017_11_07&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_af7b6b7130-74d7f54edb-229809053.