Background The Rio Summit in 1992 raised awareness among the public of the need for sustainable development. At a local level, especially in areas of environmental sensitivity, there is an increasing demand for industry and public authorities to respect the environment. Objectives The objectives of the "EMAS-GARGANO" project were to: Set up an environmental management system in the Gargano National Park and obtain EMAS registration. Reach a social-sustainable balance for the National Park. Encourage good practices concerning environmental management, which can be transferred to other areas in Europe. Train and inform stakeholders working in protected areas about environment and sustainable tourism issues. Results The EMAS-GARGANO project is the first to have introduced EMAS to a protected area like the Gargano Park. The park achieved this by establishing an environmental management system and integrating the contents of the draft park plan with the approved environmental analysis. Though EMAS registration of the Gargano Park environmental management system has yet not been reached, the registration procedure is ongoing. The implementation of advanced tools, such as EMAS, is particularly valuable for environmental improvement. The Gargano Park conducted an initial analysis of the territory and of the impacts on environmental quality (i.e. evaluation of the impact that tourists produce on the territory). It then used the results of the analysis to define the general principles of the environmenatal management tool in collaboration with all stakeholders in order to control and reduce the impacts on environmental quality. EMAS is open to voluntary participation thus requiring that stakeholders work together towards common goals. The project adopted the social-sustainable balance, which in turn, increased the visibility of the territory and highlighted the environmental problems to stakeholders. In order to achieve significant improvements in the environmental quality of the Gargano Park, it was essential that all stakeholders (organisations, institutions, associations, etc.), responsible for environmental quality, defined objectives and shared targets. Applying EMAS to a complex area such as the Gargano national park required innovation, particularly in the transfer of environmental sustainability and sustainable development concepts in its management. The environmental management system and the social-sustainable balance could have long-term economic and social benefits due to the adoption of the Social-Sustainable Balance which will allow greater integration between the Park and the social and socio-economic contexts. This would also produce the benefit of increasing the visibility of the territory and promoting the environmental problems to the stakeholders. Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report and After-LIFE Communication Plan (see "Read more" section).