“Apeldoorn Appeal: joining forces for connectivity”

Apeldoorn 23 September 2005

A new approach to nature conservation is urgently needed in Europe. The message from the Apeldoorn Appeal is: connect!

• Connect nature with nature: aim for a resilient European ecological network.
• Connect people with nature: focus on the services nature provides to society.
• Connect practice with policy: create new alliances among stakeholders.

The Apeldoorn Appeal is a message from the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), EUROSITE, EUROPARC, and the ECNC - European Centre for Nature Conservation, in cooperation with the EUCC - European Union for Coastal Conservation, endorsed by Birdlife, EURONATUR, IUCN, WWF, YEE.

The Apeldoorn Appeal is offered to Mr Ladislav Miko, representing EU Environment Commisioner Stavros Dimas, and Ms Sylvi Ofstad, Chair Council Pan-European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy (PEBLDS) by Mr. Ralph Hallo, President of the European Environmental Bureau on behalf of all supporting organisations. Commissioner Dimas has given his response to the Appeal with a video message.

Halting the loss of biodiversity

European countries are committed to halting the loss of biodiversity by 2010. The realisation of this 2010 target requires ambitious new conservation approaches. Conservation in the 21st century means pro-active ecosystem management and stakeholder involvement instead of traditional, defensive approaches. The European organisations call for a focus on connectivity, not only within nature itself but also between people, between practice and policy, and between nature and the users and owners of the wider countryside. Our European landscapes offer room for nature and opportunities for people.

The European organisations who prepared the Appeal have contributed their own expertise and viewpoint to it:

Ralph Hallo, President of the EEB: “Connectivity also means that we need to work more closely with other actors such as landowners, farmers and planners to find common solutions to common problems. Given the immense task of responding to the effects of climate change and halting the loss of biodiversity, we can no longer afford to stay within our own circles.”

Michael Starrett, President of the EUROPARC Federation: “I am delighted that the Presidents of Europe’s major environmental NGO’s have endorsed the Apeldoorn Appeal. It emphasises the links between communities and nature conservation and reflects a clear shift in public attitudes. One of our clear objectives must be to work at a political level to secure real and meaningful support for our work.”

Rob Wolters, ECNC’s Executive Director: “Europe should reconnect to its nature, in more than one way. Europe’s biodiversity is one of the strongest pillars for our economic development, our sense of identity, and well-being and health. For me, this is the prime message of the European Nature Conference”

Gernant Magnin, Eurosite’s Executive Director: “The Apeldoorn Appeal reflects a growing realisation that European conservation objectives will benefit from increased connectivity between key players and between areas that constitute our natural environment. A pan-European approach to practical site management is essential, Natura 2000 should be prioratised, and greater emphasis should be placed on the conservation of our largest and mostly intact natural spaces in Central and Eastern Europe”

Tools for practice

Additional to the Apeldoorn Appeal the book ‘Connectivity in process, examples from the field’ has been presented at the conference. The book contains a wide variety of projects in progress from all over Europe, which support the biodiversity target. The main goal of the book is to display to the European politicians that nature conservation organisations have many ideas regarding how to reach the biodiversity target. Participants of the conference can use the project book as a tool for exchanging experiences and looking for partners.

Contact Details

If you require any further information, send an email to info@natureconference.org, or contact the conference organisation directly at +31 (0)35 6559829 or +31 (0)6 54295314.