High-Quality Producers and Products from the UNESCO Dolomites

In the context of work carried out by the Landscape Heritage and Protected Areas Network, in 2018 collaboration was initiated with high-quality producers from the Dolomites World Heritage Site. There are many farmers and producers involved across the Dolomites, part of a project aimed at promoting not only products, but above all producers themselves, as key players in active conservation and promotion of the Dolomites.

Ph. El Brite de Larieto

The project pursues one of the goals of the Overall Management Strategy for the Dolomites UNESCO Property: to foster sustainable economies through promotion of local production. The initiative with the producers also acts on other goals of the Overall Management Strategy, in particular for joint promotion of the World Heritage Site and its values, synergy between key actors in governance of the Property, a culture of hospitality and experience & community-based tourism, promotion of good practices aimed at cultivated biodiversity and active conservation, and fostering of awareness amongst farmers with regard to their role as primary “builders” and “active conservers” of the Dolomites landscape and, through agricultural, forestry and pastoral activity, upholders of hydrogeological protection.

This is a project that unites the high quality of agri-food production from the different enterprises of the World Heritage Site, from Trentino, South Tyrol, Belluno and Friuli, with the individual experiences of producers who express the deep connection between their communities and the Dolomites.

The criteria for producers’ inclusion in the project are:

• • production sites in the municipalities making up the Dolomites UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  • existing certification or recognition with requirements guaranteeing production processes aligned with the principles of active conservation and promotion of the universal value recognised by UNESCO and underlying the World Heritage Site management strategy.

The main certifications recognised as being aligned with the principles of conservation and promotion of the World Heritage Site are:

• • Quality certificate of the National, Regional and Provincial Parks present in the Dolomites
  • Organic and Biodynamic
  • Slow Food
  • Mountain product
  • Local quality certifications defined by regional and provincial authorities.

In 2021 a promotional area for high-quality producers was created on the portal visitdolomites.com, providing an online catalogue of  producers from the Dolomites signed up to the scheme. This section is available in English, German and Italian.

The online catalogue is available here.

This activity is part of the project “Promotion of the region through integrated management and communication actions of the UNESCO Dolomites WHS”, established with the support of Fondo Comuni Confinanti.