Arsenal in Zadar hosted a 5-day conference of scientists and experts from specialized organization IPBES on the 5th of September.
This was the second meeting of the expert group IPBES for Regional assessments of biodiversity and ecosystem services in Europe and Central Asia. About one hundred participants from 50 different countries such as Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Great Britain, the US and many other countries, visited the conference.
IPBES is the intergovernmental body which assesses the state of biodiversity and ecosystem services it provides to society. It was established in 2012 in Panama by over 100 governments as a mechanism to provide scientific information for policy makers and currently includes members from 125 governments. It is placed under the auspices of UNEP, FAO, UNDP, and UNESCO, and administered by UNEP.
Presenters of IPBES explained that choosing Zadar was due to the location, climate and transport links a great destination for the organization of their event. As a location the city of Zadar is becoming more and more popular, also for congresses and conferences and the amazing city has even been voted as a European Best Destination 2016. Zadar won among cities like Athens, Nantes, Azores, Paris, Novi Sad and other prestigious cities. With the location of Arsenal, its centred location and monumental setting this is truly inspiring and provides a wide array of non-conventional event ideas for the organisation.
Five days of intensive work at Arsenal and a significant number of nightly stays in various forms of accommodation certainly made a contribution to tourism and it seems that such events could be the best way to extend the tourist season and offers.
