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The Strategy
Guide the Clearing-House for the Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy
The Bulletin of the Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy reports on the implementation of the Strategy's various action themes by governments and international and non-governmental organisations.
CONTENTS
EDITORIALRESULTS AND PROSPECTS OF IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PAN-EUROPEAN STRATEGY ON LANDSCAPE AND BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY IN RUSSIA AND CIS COUNTRIES Implementation of the Pan-European Strategy of Landscape and Biological Diversity (PES) within the territory of the former USSR, and in Russia in particular, was considered by State authorities and environmentalists as one of the priorities for environmental protection activities and the effective mechanism of European integration. While implementing the Strategy the emphasis is on rare species protection and territorial nature conservation. Despite economical difficulties nature management legislation has been considerably improved in recent years, the basic laws, such as the Wildlife Law and the Law on Nature Reserves, were adopted. The Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation is now considering the Plant Conservation Law and other environmental bills of high significance. In the period 1995-1997 nine Reserves with a total area of 2 047 000 hectares and five national parks at federal level with a total area of 245 100 hectares as well as numerous special reserves were planned out, some of them of federal importance also several hundreds of nature monuments. Of greatest priority for Russia and CIS is Pan-European Environmental Networking (PEEN) which would probably become the basis for PES implementation in the region. There are still large areas of spatially related territories with practically undisturbed natural conditions. the process of economical transition still provide for, and often contribute to, the establishment and the realization of nature protection measures within particular territories. A wealth of experience has been accumulated in the CIS countries and a lot of highly qualified experts in territorial nature conservation still work there. Among the today's topical tasks is the incorporation into international treaties and agreements of such notions as environmental network, its major functions, namely biodiversity conservation, water protection, recreation management, etc., and their requirements. It is necessary to specify the indicators and results that should be achieved and submitted by national governments and international organisations participating in the implementation of PES. Common standards and procedures of data collection and the application of PEEN should be agreed in order to distribute this work properly. It is necessary to establish a real system of territorial protection, not a set of individual nature reserves, although with similar features. The aim of environmental networking is therefore to straighten out the data on existing reserves rather than to organise some new ones. At the same time the amount of information required for the evaluation of poorly investigated areas should be properly minimised, for example, using the methods of "quick environmental assessment". While selecting areas for networking one should apply such criteria as the whole project of a regional network, both specific features and the role of particular natural areas in this network, as well as the organisation and legal aspects. The criteria of networking should be flexible enough to provide, according to Reimers-Shtilmark's rule (1978), for the evolution of regional nature reserve systems in line with increasing anthropogenic pressure. At the Pan-European level these criteria could be effective if they comprise the principles of elaboration of the regional assessment parameters, rather than the lists of possible projects such as species, types of ecosystems, etc. Numerous problems with the activities of the Russian Union for the Protection of Birds within the key ornithological areas (KOA) are mainly due to the fact that the criteria and the registration requirements for KOA had been formulated long before the PES implementation was started in Russia, even though they are based on the lists of priority bird species and the quantitative parameters of their populations, which are accepted in all European countries. According to the experts, the variability of environmental and social conditions within the CIS territory requires the elaboration of 5 to 8 alternative strategies of environmental networking, different in their targets, tasks and implementation techniques. The terms used in all these strategies should, however, be compatible. Environmental networking should take place at the level of sub-national regions, rather than that of large countries, such as Russia, Ukraine or Kazakhstan. The "Heart of Russia" Programme providing for environmental networking within the territory of 9 administrative regions of the Russian Federation with the total area exceeding 400 000 sq. km is an example of such activities. It is particularly important to work out well-defined and "transparent" procedures of participation in PES for all interested institutions, such as organisations, businesses, NGOs, etc., in the shortest possible time. Meanwhile the propaganda, education and providing information are still the weakest points of environmental networking within the PES framework. The positive decision of the PES Executive Bureau on the invitation of several representatives of NGOs from Central and Eastern Europe to participate in the activities of the PES Expert Committee would be much appreciated in this case. The environmental networking for the CIS territory accounting for more than 75% of the Pan-European area could never be wholly satisfactory without the active participation of experts from all countries of the region in the planning process. Therefore, the organisation of the PES Working Group for North-Eastern Eurasia on the basis of the "Wildlife Network" Programme of the Centre for Wildlife Conservation has become the first step in co-ordination of their activities. "In general, our joint efforts in the implementation of the Pan-European Strategy, specifically in Action Themes 1 and 11, are the predominant factors of the Biological Diversity Convention realisation in the vast area from British to Kuril Islands. Aware of this, the Russian authorities and participants of the Strategy express their support for the actions of the Council of Europe in this process." Dr. Pitscheliov in co-operation with E.A. Simonov, N.A. Sobolev, E.A. Shwarz, A. Shchukin Implementation of the Strategy within OrganisationsACTION THEME 1 - Pan-European Ecological Network Bureau of the committee of experts The Bureau of the Committee of Experts for the Pan-European Ecological Network met on 5-6 February 1998 at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg and presented the documents that it proposes to submit to the Conference of Environment Ministers in Aarhus:
(Contact: Maguelonne Déjeant-Pons, Council of Europe, F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex, Fax +33 (0)3 88 41 37 51, e-mail maguelonne.dejeant-pons@coe.fr) Preparation for the fourth "Environment for Europe" ministerial conference A select group of the executive bureau for the Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy met at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on 18 February 1998 to prepare the Strategy contribution to the forthcoming ministerial conference in Aarhus. A two-part contribution was proposed: the first part to consist of a report on work already under way, and the second to highlight the fact that biodiversity conservation was an important element in the deliberations on other conference themes. A document about the Strategy - for submission to the next conference of Contracting Parties to the Convention on Biodiversity - was also prepared at the meeting. (Contact: Maguelonne Déjeant-Pons, Council of Europe, F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex, Fax +33 (0)3 88 41 37 51, e-mail maguelonne.dejeant-pons@coe.fr) Group of Specialists on the Award of the European Diploma The Group of Specialists on the award of the Council of Europe's European Diploma for protected areas met in Strasbourg from 18-20 March 1998. After discussing the expert reports submitted, the group decided to renew the award of the Diploma to the following 10 areas:
The group also decided in favour of awarding the Diploma to five further areas:
The proposals will go to the Committee for the Activities of the Council of Europe in the field of Biological and Landscape Diversity, and then to the Council's Committee of Ministers, for decision. Finally, the group considered the files submitted in support of the candidatures of the Biele Karpaty protected landscape (Slovakia) and "De Oostvaardersplassen" nature reserve (Netherlands) for the European Diploma. It recognised the European interest of the two candidate areas and decided to commission expert on-the-spot reports on both. (Contact: Françoise Bauer, Council of Europe, F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex, Fax +33 (0)3 88 41 37 51, e-mail françoise.bauer@coe.fr) ACTION THEME 2 - Integration of the Strategy into sectoral policies Tourism and the environment The Council of Europe's "Tourism and Environment" Group of Specialists held the first of its two 1998 meetings on 12-13 February in Strasbourg. It noted consolidated reports submitted by the teams of specialist consultants commissioned to conduct pilot studies on sustainable tourist development in Latvia, Romania and Ukraine. The group heard that after a second study trip this year, these reports could be used to draw up specific development programmes that would take account of the natural, biological and socio-economic characteristics of each of the three areas selected. The meeting included a presentation and discussion on a study, commissioned by the group, on the inclusion of a tourism and environment module in tourism training courses. The group also decided favour of staging two events:
(Contact: Françoise Bauer and Hélène Bouguessa, Council of Europe, F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex, Fax +33 (0)3 88 41 37 51, e-mail helene.bouguessa@coe.fr) ACTION THEME 3 - Raising awareness and support among policy makers and the public Landscapes: the setting for our lives Issue No. 86 of Naturopa magazine, on the theme Landscapes: the setting for our lives has just been published. The two further issues due out in 1998 will deal with environmental networks in Europe and sustainable management of coastlines. (Contact: Marie-Françoise Glatz, Centre Naturopa, F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex, Fax +33 (0)3 88 41 27 15, e-mail marie-françoise.glatz@coe.fr) ACTION THEME 10 - Mountain ecosystems Mountain conservation and sport Efforts to minimise the environmental impact of recreation (especially rock climbing) are to be undertaken in co-operation with the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) and will involve compiling information on the problem and preparing case studies on management approaches. The implementation of mechanisms to protect regional mountain ecosystems will begin with a review and assessment of institutional procedures and frameworks. A preliminary report, recommending future work, is due to be published in May 1998. These various aspects of the conservation of mountain ecosystems will be considered at an international seminar to be run jointly by the UIAA and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) in Barcelona on 2 and 3 May 1998. (Contacts: Elliot Robertson, Mountain Regions Programme, Environmental Change Unit, University of Oxford, Oxford OX2 6NB, UK - Tel. +44 (0)1865 274709, Fax +44 (0)1865 515194, e-mail elliot.robertson@tsu.ox.ac.uk or Miguel Rafa, UIAA, E-08024 Barcelona - Tel. +34 3 285 06 97, Fax +34 3 285 05 64, e-mail 101755.366@compuserve.com) ACTION THEME 11 - Action for threatened species The Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe (LCIE) Once a broad mosaic of natural habitats ideal for large carnivores, Europe is now left with only scattered tracts of wild country. Brown bear, wolf, wolverine, Eurasian lynx and Iberian lynx still occur in Europe but they are forced to live in highly fragmented and human-dominated landscapes. In recent years, a number of factors have encouraged widespread, co-ordinated action to protect these species and secure a better future for them. In June 1995, the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), together with partner organisations and experts from 17 European countries launched the "Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe" at a meeting in the Abruzzi National Park in Italy. The launch was followed by two workshops - at Neuchâtel (Switzerland) in September 1995 and Oberammergau (Germany) in January 1996 - at which an action programme was drawn up to build a network of all the bodies concerned with preserving large carnivores and undertaking specific activities. The programme focused on the following priorities:
One of the activities under the action programme will be a seminar organised by the Bern Convention bodies in collaboration with the WWF, in Nizke national park (Slovakia) from 1-3 October 1998, to discuss the application of action plans for large carnivores. (Contact: William Pratesi Urquhart, WWF International, avenue du Mont-Blanc, CH-1196 Gland, Fax +41 22 864 3239, e-mail wpratesi@wwfnet.org and Eladio Fernández Galiano, Council of Europe, F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex, Fax +33 (0)3 88 41 37 51, e-mail eladio.fernandez-galiano@coe.fr) Amphibians and reptiles in Europe A seminar on the implementation of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) action plans for European amphibians and reptiles, organised in collaboration with the Group of Experts on the Bern Convention, will be held in Thessalonika (Greece) from 28-31 May 1998. (Contact: Sandra Jen, Council of Europe, F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex, Tel. +33 (0)3 88 41 20 00, Fax +33 (0)3 88 41 37 51, e-mail sandra.jen@coe.fr) Second European Bat Night On the initiative of the Secretariat of the EUROBATS/CMS Agreement, a second European Bat Night will be held on Saturday 29/30 August 1998. A poster to help publicise activities at national level will be available in various language versions from the EUROBATS Secretariat. (Contact: EUROBATS, Fax +49 228 815 24 45, e-mail eurobats@uno.de) Implementation of the Strategy at national levelACTION THEME 4 - Landscape conservation Czech Republic A national conference on landscape conservation in the Czech Republic was held in November 1997 in Pribram, under the auspices of the Czech Environment Ministry. It was organised by the Agency for Nature Conservation and Landscape Protection and attracted 300 participants from a range of backgrounds. The conference considered ministerial programmes for landscape preservation, the revitalisation of the river system, landscape management, and how to set up a territorial system for ecological stability. Participants also discussed the practical measures required to revitalise habitat following floods in Moravia and eastern Bohemia, and to implement the ecological stability system. A 1998 calendar on the theme of landscape - published in Czech and English - was launched at the conference. (Contact: Agency for Nature Conservation and Landscape Preservation of the Czech Republic, 4-6 Kališnická, CZ-130 00 Prague 3, Fax +420 2 697 00 12, e-mail kucera@nature.cz) ACTION THEMES 6 AND 7 - WETLANDS Audit on the protection of wetlands in Sweden The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency has just published an update report on Swedens 30 Ramsar sites - a total area of 382,750 hectares, 71% in public ownership. (Contact: Bureau of the Ramsar Convention) Forthcoming EventsFourth Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity The Fourth Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity will be held in Bratislava (Slovakia) from 4-15 May 1998, following the Global Biodiversity Forum on 1-3 May. (Contact: Caroline Martinet, IUCN, 28 rue Mauverney, CH-1196 Gland, Tel. +41 22 999 00 01, Fax +41 22 999 00 25, e-mail ccm@hq.iucn-org) Fifth Conference of Mediterranean Regions The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, in conjunction with the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe, is to hold the fifth Conference of Mediterranean Regions in October 1998. The central theme will be sustainable development in the Mediterranean and Black Sea basins and the aim will be to initiate an ongoing dialogue in order to facilitate inter-parliamentary and inter-regional co-operation in pursuit of peace, democratic security and sustainable development in the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions. A final document, to be drawn up by Professor Mario Pavan (Italy), will affirm the commitment of those represented at the conference to achieving this aim. (Contact: Antonella Cagnolati-Staveris, Committee on the Environment, Regional Planning and Local Authorities, Council of Europe, F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex, Fax +33 (0)3 88 41 27 19) International conference on wetlands and development The second International Conference on Wetlands and Development will be held in Dakar (Senegal) from 8-14 November 1998, alongside the first meeting of the board of Wetlands International. Participants will review work done during the period between the first international wetlands conference, in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) in 1995, and the establishment of Wetlands International. (Contact: Maria Pierce, Wetlands International, Marijkeweg 11, PO Box 7002 NL-6700 CA Wegeningen, Tel. +31 317 474711, Fax +31 317 474712, e-mail Post@wetlands.agro.nl , website: http://www.wetlands.agro.nl) Publications... of the Council of Europe
... of other organisations and institutions Arctic Biodiversity Conservation A report on the Workshop on Arctic Biodiversity Conservation, run jointly by the WWF and UNEP in Karrebaeksminde (Denmark) from 23-25 September 1997, has just been published. Compiled by Henry P Huntingdon, it records the discussions during the workshop, which attracted participants from some 10 countries. They reviewed the various aspects of Arctic conservation and the role of the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) programme, and considered factors that threaten biodiversity in the Arctic, together with potential solutions, as part of a co-operative strategy for Arctic biodiversity conservation. (Contacts: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Regional Office for Europe, 15 chemin des Anémones, CH-1219 Châtelaine-Genève, Tel. +41 22 979 91 11, Fax +41 22 797 34 20, website: http://www.unep.net - WWF International, Arctic Programme, PO Box 6784, St Olavsplass, N-0130 Oslo, Tel. +47 22 03 65 17, Fax +47 22 20 06 66, website: http://www.panda.org/resources/inthefield/arctic) ... by countries participating in the Strategy Preparation for the ministerial conference in Aarhus The third issue of the newsletter on the fourth Pan-European Conference of Environment Ministers has just been published by the Danish secretariat of the conference. (Contact: Charlotte Bech, Ministry for Environment and Energy, Danish Environmental Protection Agency, Miljostyrelsen, Strandgade 29, DK-1401 Copenhagen, Fax +45 32 66 05 36, e-mail cbx@mst.dk) Landscape diversity and rural life The Polish authorities have just published the proceedings of the second Pan-European Seminar on Rural Landscapes (in English only). The publication can be obtained from the body that organised the event in co-operation with the Council of Europe. (Contact: Dr Lech Ryszkowski, Research Centre for Agricultural and Forest Environment, Bukowska Street 19, 60809 Poznan, Poland, Tel. +48 61 475 803, Fax +48 61 473 668) |
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