The procedure and criteria according to which operators in the agricultural and food sector can apply for inclusion in the Catalogue of Quality Producers of the Dolomites World Heritage Site have been updated. The project was initiated in 2018 to highlight how farming in the mountains is an important factor in active heritage conservation and how producers can also be guardians of biodiversity and proponents of a sustainable economy, anchored in the specificity of the Dolomite valleys.
Ph. Alberto Montresor | Agriturismo Dalaip dei Pape
The criteria to be met
The list of producers included in the catalogue already numbers more than eighty enterprises, and in the ‘High Quality’ section of the visitdolomites.com portal, visitors can locate them, pay them a virtual visit, and learn about the products made through the efforts of fruit and vegetable growers, breeders, wine growers, brewers and beekeepers.
These production concerns from various regions in the Dolomites have participated in the initiatives for exchanging knowledge and practices with curiosity and passion, but above all with the awareness of taking care of heritage to be passed on to future generations.
On the basis of this commitment demonstrated by the participants, the Operating Network of Landscape Heritage and Protected Areas, which has coordinated activities with the Producers in recent years, has updated the criteria for being featured in the catalogue.
Minimum requirements must therefore be met to apply for inclusion in the Catalogue:
- the company’s production site must be located within the boundaries of one of the municipalities and parks that comprise part of the core area of the Dolomites World Heritage Site
- the company must possess at least one suitable certification (Organic, Biodynamic, Slow Food Presidium, Mountain Product, Regional Quality Certification issued by the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol, the Autonomous Province of Trento, the Veneto Region or the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, or the Quality Charter of a Park belonging to the Dolomites World Heritage Site)
- the activity, if in the area of one of the Dolomites World Heritage Parks, must comply with the requirements of the relevant Park
- the company must undertake to actively participate in the initiatives of the Quality Producers of the Dolomites World Heritage Site and to operate in respect of the exceptional value of the World Heritage Site, disseminating those values through its work.
How to apply (and why)
To join, you must fill in the form available here, with all the required attachments. If approved, registration in the catalogue will allow you to feature on the site with your own information sheet, and stay up to date on the initiatives of the Quality Producers of the Dolomites World Heritage Site.
Participants in these initiatives can discover other businesses in the Dolomites regions that are similar to their own and exchange knowledge useful for facing the challenges of today and tomorrow. Moreover, explicitly committing to the conservation of the Dolomites landscape is a way of demonstrating adherence to the cultural values that characterise agri-food production, too – behind every type of production lies tradition, knowledge and experience, which tell of the close bond that exists between local communities and their mountains.