The purpose of the Bulletin of the Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy is to circulate information about implementation of the Strategy's various action themes in States, international organisations and non-governmental organisations.

Editorial

At the "Environment for Europe" Conference in Aarhus, Denmark, in June 1998, the Ministers restated their determination to implement the Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy. They also set out their priorities clearly and emphasised the importance and urgency of integrating biological and landscape diversity into policies for other sectors. They considered it was vital, for example, that agriculture should take more account of environmental concerns. This is something that the Council of Europe has been urging for many years. The protection and management of the environment cannot be considered separately from other human activities, but must be integrated into the broader framework of regional and spatial planning policies.

The Ministers also acknowledged that improved access to information and public participation in decision-making about the environment make for better decisions and more effective implementation while, at the same time, allowing public concerns to be voiced. Accordingly, they approved the Convention on Access to Environmental Information and Public Participation in Environmental Decision-Making.

In 1995, the Council of Europe organised European Nature Conservation Year around the key concept that effective nature conservation means protecting all aspects of nature, particularly in the overall context of the countryside, where most wild species and natural habitats are to be found. Specially protected areas are, after all, relatively few and far between and account for only a fraction of European territory. The experts who took part in a Council of Europe seminar in Ljubljana in September 1998 stressed the importance of promoting sustainable rural development as a means towards spatial and social cohesion in Europe.

This is where we believe that the Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy can usefully contribute to building a Pan-European Ecological Network, closely linked to the European Union's Natura 2000 network and the Emerald Network, set up under the Bern Convention. The Pan-European Ecological Network will help us to identify those areas – including aspects of agriculture, transport and tourism – where a fresh and more environmentally aware approach is needed and where a new countryside policy will help to secure a geographical balance and to preserve natural and cultural landscapes that are very important to Europe, not only as a priceless heritage, but also as a powerful asset in terms of future development and harmony.

Tarcisio Bassi
Deputy Director, Environment and Local Authorities, Council of Europe

GENERAL INFORMATION

Council of Europe

Environmental protection in criminal law
On 9 September 1998 the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers adopted the text of the Convention on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law and decided to open it for signature by Council of Europe member states and those non-members that had played a part in drafting it. The convention will be opened for signature at the Committee of Ministers' 103rd session on 4 November 1998.
Contact: Peter Csonka, Directorate of Legal Affairs, Council of Europe, telephone +33 (0)3 88 41 2228, fax +33 (0)3 88 41 2794, e-mail peter.csonka@coe.fr, http://www.coe.fr

News from the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly – proposal to set up a multidisciplinary European Maritime Agency
At its September 1998 session, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe called for the establishment of a European Maritime Agency to co-ordinate policies to protect the marine environment and resources and to develop marine-based industries, as well as the related research, on the basis of a wide-ranging multidisciplinary debate.

In the context of International Year of the Ocean, the Assembly held a joint debate on three reports: Future Challenges in European Maritime Science and Technology (by Pedro Roseta, Portugal, EPP/CD), Sustainable Exploitation of Living Marine Resources (by Lino Carvalho, Portugal, UEL) and The Oceans: State of the Marine Environment and New Trends in International Law of the Sea (by Lieselott Blunck, Germany, SOC). Two opinions – by Tomas Ingi Olrich (Iceland, EDG) and Edward O'Hara (United Kingdom, SOC) - contributed to the multidisciplinary overview.

The Assembly also proposed a number of measures, including:

• the formulation of an overall European maritime policy, geared to sustainable development;
• support for research and development in marine technology – including research into global climate change and new pollutants that might have an effect on the molecular processes of marine organisms;
• putting research on a multidisciplinary footing;
• improved public information and a campaign to raise awareness of the oceans' importance;
• an invitation to all those member states of the Council of Europe that have not yet done so to sign and ratify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea;
• the destruction of drift-nets and the introduction of an import ban on fish from countries which violate the international treaties and legal regulations prohibiting drift-net fishing;
• the protection of the European maritime heritage, particularly the underwater cultural heritage, which is increasingly at risk from the massive impact of scientific progress.

Contact: Christopher Grayson, Office of the Clerk of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, telephone +33 (0)3 88 41 2114, fax +33 (0)3 88 41 2797, e-mail christopher.grayson@coe.fr, http://stars.coe.fr

At the European Commission – the LIFE programmes

LIFE is the financial instrument supporting the Community environment policy. Adopted in 1992, it initially covered the period 1992-1995. A revised regulation was adopted in 1996 for the period 1996-1999. The Commission invites legal or natural persons established in the European Union or in certain other countries, particularly those of central and eastern Europe, to submit proposals for the 1999 round of selection under the LIFE Environment, LIFE Nature and LIFE Third Countries programmes.

Fact-files containing a description of the programmes and an application form can be obtained through the Commission's web site (http://europa.eu.int/com.life/home.htm), or from the following sources:

• for LIFE Environment, the relevant national authorities, European information centres or the Commission (fax +32 2 296 95 61);
• for LIFE Nature, the national authorities or the Commission (fax +32 2 296 95 56);
• for LIFE Third Countries, the Commission delegations in the third countries concerned or the Commission itself (fax +32 2 299 41 23)

Prospective applicants in central and eastern European countries can obtain information from their national authorities or from the Commission itself (fax +32 2 299 41 23). The deadline for submission of projects to the Commission is 31 January 1999.

Around the Ministerial Conference in Aarhus

The 4th Pan-European Conference of Environment Ministers, held in Aarhus, Denmark, from 23-25 June 1998, provided political impetus and a fresh sense of purpose to the work of conserving biological and landscape diversity. Special emphasis was placed, throughout the conference, on measures to protect forest ecosystems and to support activities in relation to agriculture and environment. (See the resolution on Biological and Landscape Diversity and the extract from the Aarhus Declaration on the same subject, in Strategy Bulletin No. 10 – Special Aarhus).

An exhibition on the Pan-European Strategy
Numerous events were held to coincide with the Ministerial Conference. In particular, the Council of Europe staged an exhibition about the Strategy, presenting, on eleven panels, key elements of the work already carried out or planned under its various Action Themes. The exhibition is designed to be a travelling event and, subject to agreement with the Centre Naturopa, could be mounted at other events held in connection with the Strategy.
Contact: Elda Moreno, Centre Naturopa, Council of Europe, telephone +33 (0)3 88 41 2262, fax +33 (0)3 88 41 2751, e-mail elda.moreno@coe.fr

Web site for the Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy
Another notable happening at Aarhus was the launch, on 23 June, of the Strategy Guide on the Internet. The web site, maintained by the European Centre for Nature Conservation (ECNC) with support from the Council of Europe, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) (http://www.StrategyGuide.org), presents the Strategy Bulletin and other useful information about the implementation of the Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy. (See Bulletin No. 9 for more details.)
Contact: Ben Delbaere, ECNC, telephone +31 13 4663240, fax +31 13 4663250, e-mail delbaere@ecnc.nl, http://www.ecnc.nl

Financing of measures to promote biodiversity
Alongside the Aarhus Conference, the ECNC ran a workshop on biodiversity funding, in co-operation with the IUCN and the GLOBE parliamentary network. The workshop followed on from the 1996 conference in Eindhoven (Netherlands) on innovative financing mechanisms for European biodiversity and the deliberations of the Select Group on Funding the Strategy.
Contact: ECNC, telephone +31 13 466 3240, fax +31 13 466 3250, e-mail ecnc@ecnc.nl, http://www.ecnc.nl

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE STRATEGY

Action theme 0.2 – Progress with the introduction of National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans in all the countries of Europe

It is envisaged that most of Central Eastern European (CEE) countries will have their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) completed by the end of 1998, thus complying with the Ministerial Declaration of the Sofia Conference, their obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CDB) and decisions of the Conferences of the Parties to the CDB.

At this stage, CEE countries require further technical and expert assistance to ensure a smooth transition between development and implementation of their NBSAPs. Inadequate political support and commitment, difficulties in securing national funds and mobilising external financial resources, weakness of institutions and legislation, lack of mecanisms to access expertise and relevant information as well as shortage of experienced and skilled staff are among the major obstacles hindering the process of effective implemntation of NBSAPs in CEE.

A new project proposal « Service for Implementing National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans » has been drafted by UNEP, IUCN, ECNC and other partners in order to address the above mentioned difficulties. The overall objectif of the Service is twofold :

• to facilitate the process of NBSAPs implementation in CEE countries ; and
• to stimulate the true integration of efforts in implementation of national (NBSAP), regional (PEBLDS) and global (CDB) instruments for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

This will be accomplished through provision of expert and advisory services, policy recommendations and guidelines, best available information, experience exchange and training.

The Service is based on a demand-driven approach. All expert services and technical assistance within the framework of the project will be provided on request at national, local and, if appropriate, subregional levels to meet particular needs expressed by national Governments and other biodiversity stakeholders.

Expertise, experience and information gained as a result of expert services will be collected, analysed, summarised and made available for use by all countries of the region. Thereby the Service will be consistent and complementing to the work of the CDB Clearing-House Mechanism.

The thematic scope of the Service will be focused, under the umbrella of the CDB and PEBLDS, on National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans. The Service will also address, as far as possible and appropriate, specific biodiversity related problems faced by countries of the region, including EU accession issues, special needs of the NIS, and transboundary concerns. Target beneficiaries are national governments, non-governmental organisations and other institutions involved in biodiversity conservation from 27 countries of Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia which will benefit from assistance provided under the Service.

The project will be implemented by a consortium of partner organisations : UNEP, IUCN, and other organisations, joining their strengh, capacities, skills and potentials in order to better meet requests for assistance and effectively deliver results.

The Service will support, complement and be build on ongoing activities and initiatives of the partner organisations. This approach will allow to promote coordination and cooperation among the partner organisations, avoid duplication of activities, better use existing structures, facilities and experience, as well as to make the delivery of requested services more cost effective.

Cooperation is also sought with other organisations that are willing to become members of the consortium and agree to provide substantial contribution.
Contact : Mr. Sipi Jaakkola, UNEP-ROE, Tel. +41 22 979 9281, Fax +41 22 979 9024, E-mail : sipi.jaakkola@unep.ch

Network of Council of Europe Diploma areas Special expert review of the Doñana National Park

From 17-19 September 1998, under the rules of the European Diploma, Council of Europe experts carried out a special review of the Doñana National Park, in order to assess the impact of the environmental disaster in the park's catchment area. The experts approved the wide-ranging measures taken by the Spanish authorities and, in particular, supported the plan to build a dyke to prevent mud and toxic effluent flowing into the park in heavy rain.

Since Doñana National Park was awarded the European Diploma in 1985, the Council of Europe has monitored the conservation problems there and has made a number of recommendations to the Spanish authorities to improve the way this remarkable area is protected and managed. Contact: Eladio Fernández Galiano, Council of Europe, telephone +33 (0)3 88 41 2259, fax +33 (0)3 88 41 3751, e-mail eladio fernandez-galiano@coe.fr

Action Theme 3 – Raising awareness and support with policy makers and the public

Naturopa 87/1998 – European ecological networks
The latest issue of the Council of Europe's Naturopa magazine has just come out. The theme of the issue is "European ecological networks".
Contact: Marie-Françoise Glatz, Centre Naturopa, Council of Europe, telephone +33 (0)3 88  41 2278, fax +33 (0)3 88 41 2715, e-mail marie-francoise.glatz@coe.fr

Environmental Communication – a means to reduce risk for environmental policy, a means to stakeholder participation

IUCN Commission on Education and Communication with SPAN consultants held in May 1998 in Debe (Poland) the training workshop "Effective Communication for Biodiversity Conservation". The workshop, funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries, was dedicated to government and NGO staff with responsibility for communication & education and was organised with the cooperation of the Slovenian Nature Conservation Authority, with the presence of the Environment Vice-Minister of Poland, Dr. Radzieowski, IUCN Councillor Dr. Anna Kalinowska, and Dr Pete Bos from the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries.

The effective implementation of PEBLDS was one of the main objectives of the training by studying the possibilities of communication. The workshop was the second part of the communication training program and it followed a workshop for decision-makers in Banska Štiavnica (Slovakia) in March 1998, organized by the European Centre for Nature Conservation.

The IUCN training program in Debe was focused on effective and market oriented management of education and communication operations. Beside the theoretical basis and examples of communication the most valuable were: practical communication skills' development; capacity and consensus building and practical experiences. In the second part of the workshop, personal skills were developed by applying the basic concepts of the communication process.

The workshop was an important contribution to raising awareness of decision-makers about the importance of communication in nature conservation. The training program stimulated several domestic communication activities and opened a wide spectrum of communication issues needing to be worked out in the nature conservation field. Following the course, facilitators followed up in Poland and Slovenia to support the next steps of the communication plans.
Contact : Wendy Goldstein, IUCN, Geneva, Fax +41 22 9990025, E-mail: wig@hq.iucn.org

Action Themes 6 and 7 – River ecosystems and related wetlands and inland wetland ecosystems

A joint work plan for Ramsar and the Convention on Biological Diversity
In May, the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), in Bratislava, decided to adopt the joint Ramsar/CBD work plan and to propose it as a model for other co-operation agreements. The conference urged co-operation with Ramsar on biodiversity in wetland ecosystems.
Contact: Office of the Ramsar Convention, 28 rue Mauverney, CH-1196 Gland, telephone +41 22 999 0170, fax +41 22 999 0169, e-mail ramsar@hq.iucn.org, http://ramsar.org./

MedWet – Mediterranean wetlands

The MedWet initiative originated in the early 1990s, under the auspices of the Ramsar Convention with the support of the European Commission and the co-operation of governments and non-governmental organisations and institutions. By 1996 it had implemented a series of measures for the preservation and rational use of Mediterranean wetlands. To facilitate the long-term management of this work and the implementation of the Mediterranean Wetlands Strategy, the Standing Committee of the Ramsar Convention approved the establishment of a Mediterranean Wetlands Committee (MedCom), to include representatives of governments, the European Commission and the Barcelona and Bern Conventions.

MedCom met for the first time in Thessaloniki in 1998, to adopt its rules of procedure, discuss the implementation of the Mediterranean Wetlands Strategy, assess the progress of the MedWet initiative and review the political and technical aspects of restoring and rehabilitating the functions of Mediterranean wetlands. A MedWet Co-ordinating Group was set up, comprising a co-ordinator appointed by the Ramsar Office, a secretariat based at the Greek Biotope/Wetland Centre (EKBY) in Thessaloniki and a project development unit based at Tour du Valat in the Camargue (France). A package of measures to consolidate and maintain the network is being implemented. In particular, the network secretariat is compiling a list of partners involved in wetland issues.
Contact: MedWet (Greek Biotope/Wetland Centre, MedWet Secretariat Unit), 14th km, Thessaloniki-Mihaniona, 570 01 Thermi, Greece, telephone +31 473 432/ 473 320, fax +31 471 795, e-mail anastasia@global.com.gr

Action Theme 9 – Forest ecosystems

Third Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe
The third Ministerial Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe was held in Lisbon, Portugal, from 2 to 4 June 1998. It was organised by the Portuguese and Austrian ministries of Forestry. A total of 40 ministers or their representatives took part in the Conference which was the follow-up to the ministerial process from Strasbourg (1990) and Helsinki (1993). The focus of the Conference was on the social and economic elements of sustainable forest management. The Conference considered and adopted the report on the follow-up of the six resolutions of Strasbourg and four resolutions of Helsinki conferences.

The Conference adopted a General Declaration which includes Ministers' "vision" and commitment to implement seven key issues identified for the management, conservation and sustainable development of forests in Europe. The Ministers signed two Resolutions :

• "People, Forests and forestry; enhancement of the socio-economic aspects of sustainable forests management", and
• "Pan-European Criteria, Indicators and Operational Level Guidelines for Sustainable Forest Management".

Certification of forest products was the most controversial political issue reflected by the ministerial statements. A majority of speakers felt that the system promoted by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), and supported by the WWF, will not provide adequate basis for certification, while some ministers frankly said the FSC had failed. Forest owner associations expressed their suspicion in general, and their fear of wood products losing competitiveness as a consequence of certification. Others said that certification must lead to monopolies or trade barriers, neither should customers be confused by certification. No one seems willing to pay for certification. Finally, the Conference agreed that more efficient follow-up and monitoring of the implementation of ministerial resolutions was needed, and that international organisations should assist governments in their implementation. A programme reflecting this agreement will be developed within the next 12 months. The next ministerial conference will be organized by Austria.

As the lead agency for the implementation of the PEBLDS Action Theme 9, UNEP is participating in the follow-up and implementation of the "Work Programme of the Conservation and Enhancement of Biological and Landscape Diversity in Forest Ecosystems 1997-2000", which is included as an item of cooperation in the ministerial declarations of both, Lisbon Conference and the "Environment for Europe" Conference in Aarhus. UNEP is also joining ECE/UN, FAO, ILO and other intergovernemental and non-governemental organisations in providing assistance in the follow-up to the Conference.
Contact : Mr. Sipi Jaakkola, UNEP, Tel. +41 22 979 9281, Fax +41 22 979 9024, E-mail: sipi.jaakkola@unep.ch.

Action Theme 11 – Action for threatened species

Large Herbivore Initiative (LHI)
The Large Herbivore Initiative for Europe (LHI) is a new initiative by WWF International, within the European Programme.

Inspired by the success of LCIE as a cooperative effort of interested parties for the benefit of Large Carnivores, it was decided to develop a similar initiative for Large Herbivores. Just as with LCIE the role of WWF in the LHI would be to act as a catalyst, networking to bring partners together, stimulating and supporting where relevant, but not "owning" the initiative.

In February 1998 the initiative was founded during a Programme Planning Workshop in Bialowieza, Poland, where some 50 experts and interested parties from more than 15 countries all over the world participated. It was decided to enlarge the geographical scope of the LHI to include Central Asia, Siberia and Mongolia because of the major importance of these regions for still large numbers of Large Herbivores living in relatively undisturbed ecosystems. Contact and additional information :Drs. Fred Baerselman, Coordinator LHI, WWF-International, c/o: P.O. Box 7, NL-3700 AA ZEIST, Fax.: 00 31 30 69 12 064, E-mail: fbaerselman@wwfnet.org

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

A future for Europe's nature and biodiversity
On 19 November 1998, the European Centre for Nature conservation (ECNC) is to hold a European Seminar on Nature Conservation in the 21st Century. A number of prominent Dutch and European speakers will review the factors at work, the fundamental choices to be made and the prospects for a nature conservation policy geared to the needs of the future.
Contact: European Centre for Nature Conservation (ECNC), telephone +31 13 466 3240, fax +31 13 466 3250, e-mail ecnc@nl, http://www.ecnc.nl

VIIIth European Bat Research Symposium
This event will take place in Cracow (Poland) from 23-27 August 1999, under the auspices of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Contact: Professor Bronislaw W. Woloszyn, Chiropterological Information Centre, Institute of Animal Systematics and Evolution, ul. Slawkowska 17, 31-016 Krakow, Poland, telephone +48 12 422 64 10, 422 19 01, fax +48 12 422 42 94, e-mail woloszbr@isez.pan.krakow.pl, VIIIEBRS@isez.pan.krakow.pl

PUBLICATIONS

... of the Council of Europe

"Nature and Environment" collection

New titles:

• Legal Obstacles to the Application of Nature Conservation Legislation, Lothar Gündling (Nature and Environment No. 89)
• The Conservation and Management of the European Badger (Meles meles), study published as part of the work of the Bern Convention (Nature and Environment No. 90)
• Study of Biotopes and Habitats Losing Wildlife Interest as a Result of Ecological Succession, Nigel R. Webb, (Nature and Environment No. 91)

... of the European Environment Agency

• Europe's Environment: The Second Assessment
  This report, drawn up by the EEA as a contribution to the Ministerial Conference in Aarhus, analyses recent changes in the state of Europe's environment and identifies the major problems that have to be tackled at national and international level. Two pocket-sized editions, summarising some of the information in the report, have also been published recently:
• Europe's Environment: The Second Assessment - An Overview
  The first part of this publication sets out briefly the national and international measures needed to address Europe's major environmental problems. The second part summarises the background to the problems and the twelve chapters of the main report.
• Europe's Environment: The Second Assessment - Data Pocketbook
  This volume contains the key data used by the European Environment Agency in its Europe's Environment: The Second Assessment report. The statistics, which are presented geographically, cover numerous areas that affect the environment directly or indirectly. These include: economic development, climate change, damage to the ozone layer, acidification, solid waste, biodiversity, soil damage and the management of water resources.