National Parks target minorities
National parks are under pressure to attract a wider range of visitors
A £1m project to encourage ethnic minorities to visit the UK's national parks will be unveiled on Thursday.
The project will train 'community champions' to create links between the parks and minority communities.
It is being launched against the backdrop of a government drive to improve access to the countryside.
Last year Trevor Phillips, chairman of the UK's race watchdog said the absence of minorities from the countryside was a form of "passive apartheid".
Ethnic minorities make up 8% of the UK population but figures show in 2002/3 they represented just 1% of visitors the countryside.
The project being launched on Thursday - the Mosaic Partnership - is the follow-up to a three-year project run by the Council for National Parks (CNP) with the Black Environment Network - which campaigns on issues relating to ethnic minorities and the environment.
Chief executive of CNP, Kathy Moore, said the new project would take their work in a new direction.
"It is an alliance between four National Park Authorities. These organisations are committed to building stronger links with black and minority ethnic communities and encouraging greater participation in their own activities," Ms Moore said.
Diversity review
The four national parks involved - the Peak District, Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire Moors and Brecon Beacons - have been chosen because of their proximity to areas with substantial ethnic minority populations.
National parks are currently endeavouring to comply with the Race Relations Amendment Act which came into force in April 2000.
It placed a duty on local authorities and other service providers - which includes the national parks - to ensure discrimination did not take place in their service delivery.
The Rural White Paper, published by the Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs in 2000, also committed the government to addressing issues of inequality in relation to access to the countryside.
A countryside diversity review established by the White Paper is currently taking place under the direction of rural watchdog, the Countryside Agency.
Earlier this year an attempt by the Lake District National Park Authority to bring in schemes for attracting under-represented groups, including ethnic minority visitors, caused a furore.
The authority proposed scrapping popular guided walks - said to be used mainly by white, middle-class visitors - to help fund the new schemes.
National parks are under pressure to attract a wider range of visitors
A £1m project to encourage ethnic minorities to visit the UK's national parks will be unveiled on Thursday.
The project will train 'community champions' to create links between the parks and minority communities.
It is being launched against the backdrop of a government drive to improve access to the countryside.
Last year Trevor Phillips, chairman of the UK's race watchdog said the absence of minorities from the countryside was a form of "passive apartheid".
Ethnic minorities make up 8% of the UK population but figures show in 2002/3 they represented just 1% of visitors the countryside.
The project being launched on Thursday - the Mosaic Partnership - is the follow-up to a three-year project run by the Council for National Parks (CNP) with the Black Environment Network - which campaigns on issues relating to ethnic minorities and the environment.
Chief executive of CNP, Kathy Moore, said the new project would take their work in a new direction.
"It is an alliance between four National Park Authorities. These organisations are committed to building stronger links with black and minority ethnic communities and encouraging greater participation in their own activities," Ms Moore said.
Diversity review
The four national parks involved - the Peak District, Yorkshire Dales, North Yorkshire Moors and Brecon Beacons - have been chosen because of their proximity to areas with substantial ethnic minority populations.
National parks are currently endeavouring to comply with the Race Relations Amendment Act which came into force in April 2000.
It placed a duty on local authorities and other service providers - which includes the national parks - to ensure discrimination did not take place in their service delivery.
The Rural White Paper, published by the Department for the Environment and Rural Affairs in 2000, also committed the government to addressing issues of inequality in relation to access to the countryside.
A countryside diversity review established by the White Paper is currently taking place under the direction of rural watchdog, the Countryside Agency.
Earlier this year an attempt by the Lake District National Park Authority to bring in schemes for attracting under-represented groups, including ethnic minority visitors, caused a furore.
The authority proposed scrapping popular guided walks - said to be used mainly by white, middle-class visitors - to help fund the new schemes.
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